


Sam and Dean take a cruise

by evilsquirre1



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Cruise Ships, F/M, Gen, Prank Wars, Speedos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2018-10-28 16:12:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 62,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10834746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilsquirre1/pseuds/evilsquirre1
Summary: This is not AU it's based on canon. It takes place during season seven. Sam and Dean discover something strange is happening on the cruise ship the Freedom of the Seas. They will go on board a seven day Caribbean cruise to try and discover what is happening. Fun sun and scurvy it's a Winchester vacation. Can they stop the deaths? Who will win the prank war?





	1. The case begins

**Author's Note:**

> This cruise is based on one that I took, so the ports and details of cruise ship are based on my experience. However, this is a work of fiction any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Sam and Dean do not belong to me they are a part of Supernatural and owned by Eric Kripke or CW. I'm just borrowing them to play with cause it's fun ;) If you like please comment or kudos if you like it thank you.

The sun was just rising on the cozy diner in Kinglands, Georgia. The diner was famous for its waffles. The Waffle House was an institute in Georgia since the 1950s. The yellow and black sign had set mouths drooling for decades. Even at 6AM on a Sunday the Restaurant was packed with customers. Angry Bird Craig was manning the grill with his usual finesse. The regular customers respected his skill with an omelet. An Angry Bird Craig omelet was light and fluffy with a golden crispness around the edges. The regular customers knew his shifts and were sure to drop by for one of his delightful delicacies not to mention the patented Angry Bird humor. Craig was easily recognized by the red Angry Bird baseball cap he always wore. However, all this was lost on the tall, long haired patron huddled over his laptop in a corner booth ignoring the organized chaos of the Waffle House’s Sunday morning breakfast rush. 

The door to the Waffle House opened for the tall sandy brown haired green eyed man. The female and a few of the male customers admired his sweet ass as he strutted through the restaurant with confidence. Those bow legs and plush lips putting dirty thoughts into their heads. “Hi ya Dean!” Angry Bird Craig called out from the grill. Dean returned the greeting with a cheeky smile and a manly head nod. “Yo, Bird man what’s up.” “Same old same old.” Angry Bird said as he flipped a cheese omelet with one hand while placing a plate of two poached eggs on toast on the divider under the order tag. He yelled out to the waitress “order up Adam & Eve on a raft for Customer Service table five.” Angry Bird Craig laughed out loud when he saw how fast Dean jerked his head around to table five to see the two beautiful blonde babes in low cut tops. “Nice one Angry Bird.” The ladies were confused but returned Dean’s smile. “Dean you know diner lingo,” Angry Bird said with a smile in his voice. “I know all the codes for gorgeous ladies.” Dean replied sending a wink to the ladies who now understood that “customer service” was diner speak for an attractive table. 

Dean walked up to Sam in the corner booth, a smirk still playing on his lips. What he saw at Sam’s booth made his smirk widen. Sam’s head was buried in his laptop while the well endowed waitress filled his coffee mug trying very hard to get his attention off the laptop and on her cleavage. But his geeky little brother wasn’t paying any attention and didn’t even lift his head as muttered a polite thank you. The waitress huffed a little in disgust until her eyes landed on Dean. Once again the 1000 watt smile and the impressive cleavage made an appearance. However, this time they were both fully enjoyed by a delighted Dean. “Hi sexy. Welcome back. Can I grab you a menu?” Daisy said a low smoky voice. “Daisy you can grab anything you want,” came Dean’s quick reply. Daisy winked and grabbed his ass as she walked off to get his menu. Dean was watching her hips sway as she walked away. The loud clearing of a throat brought Dean’s attention back to Sam just in time to catch Sam’s eye roll. 

“Dude, how does everyone in this restaurant know you? We’ve only been in town 3 days!” Sam said, irritation lacing his voice. “What can I say Sammy? People love me” Dean said with joy. “Don’t call me Sammy.” “Whatever.” Dean said sliding into the booth. “So what’s got you so distracted you don’t notice the waitress pouring her breasts into your coffee” Sam looked at Dean completely confused. “Who did what??” 

At that moment Daisy came back with Dean’s menu. Dean glanced at it briefly and asked Daisy. “So what’s good?” Daisy leaned in a whispered in his ear “me” licking his ear on the way up. Dean’s genuine smile lit up the room, while Sam looked on in disgust at the blatant display. “I’ll bet! I need to eat first to I can perform at my best. Can I have the two eggs Wreck ‘em with a side of pig and a cup of Joe?” “Do you want Heart Attack on a Rack with that? I highly recommend it,” Daisy said. “That sounds excellent and also an Eve with a Lid thank you, beautiful.” Daisy glowed at the compliment bouncing back to the grill ignoring a customer trying to get her attention for a coffee refill. 

“I’m totally in,” Dean said like an excited 8 year old with a new toy. Sam stared at him with a completely blank look, “dude what the hell did you just order?”  
Dean grinned “What’s the problem? College boy can’t understand english?” Enjoying finally knowing something that Sammy didn’t. Just because Dean wanted to see that bitch face, he added. “Hey Sammy you think she will let me lick gravy off her nipple.” “Dude seriously I’m trying to eat,” Sam said throwing down his fork and revealing bitch face number 13. 13 was Dean’s favorite of Sam’s bitch faces. There just something about the way Sam’s lips pushed into his mouth in disgust while the left dimple showed a bit and his eyes were narrowed in exasperation. Dean just shrugged while secretly laughing at how easy Sam was to mess with. “Fine! Don’t tell me what you ordered I don’t care. Can we please talk about this new case I found?” “Ah, do we have to leave Georgia already? I really like it here,” Dean whined. “Yes, a guy died of scurvy on the Freedom of the Seas. That kind of takes priority over you getting laid.” “Did you just say scurvy? And what the heck is the Freedom of the Seas?” “A very big Cruise ship leaving out of Orlando, Florida today at 1PM.” “Wait are you saying we’re going on a cruise?” 

Dean could feel his excitement growing at the prospect. He was 12 years old the first time he saw the Atlantic Ocean and he loved it instantly. His dad had driven the Impala on the Daytona Beach. Daytona Beach being one of the only beaches in the USA that allowed vehicles to drive right on the sand. John had parked on the beach at dusk and John, Dean and Sam ate dinner as the sun set over the ocean. Dean enjoyed the sight of the Impala, always his baby, gleaming in contrast against the soft white sand. Something about the salted ocean air, mixed with the smell of his dad’s leather jacket, and the sand under his bare feet put Dean at peace. Sammy had loved it too; he built an elaborate sand castle in the waning sunlight and named it Buckingham Palace ever the geek even at 8 years old. 

Going on a trip by ship was twenty times better then in a death trap of an airplane. Man was not meant to fly. It was against nature. Lisa had a picture of her and Ben on a Caribbean Cruise. They swam with the stingrays and Dean was amazed at how crystal clear the ocean in Grand Cayman looked. He always wanted to see water that blue and perfect in person. “Please, Please Sammy tell me we are going on a cruise to Grand Cayman.” Sam turned surprised eyes on Dean; what the heck did Dean know about Grand Cayman Sam wondered. He said slowly, “yes we have a hunt on the Freedom of the Seas and the cruise stops in George Town, Grand Cayman. But we probably won’t leave the ship as we’ll be focusing on the thing that caused someone to get scurvy and die during the course of a seven day cruise.” 

Dean’s retort was cut off by the arrival of the food. Dean’s scrambled eggs, side of bacon, biscuit and gravy, double crust apple pie and coffee were served with a flourish by a smiling Daisy. If it were possible Daisy’s blouse had even more buttons undone revealing the top of her lacey black bra with hot pink trim. Even Sam couldn’t miss the display this time. “Anything else sexy?” She purred, pleased that now she had both men’s attention on her Fredrick’s of Hollywood bra. That bra had cost a pretty penny, why not show it off? It was a present to herself after divorcing her controlling husband. After 8 years of having all her behavior monitored and directed by that evil man, she was glad to be a free spirit who enjoyed men for the amusement they could provide with no ties. Dean looked like he could provide her hours of wicked amusement. Daisy was pleased by his reply of “Just your number.” She quickly countered with “I can do you one better. I get off in 30 minutes. How about I show you the inside of my apartment?”

Just as Dean was going to answer he would love to see anything she wanted to show him, Sam cut in “Dean we have to head down to Orlando for our cruise.” Dean didn’t hear Sam, too enthralled by Daisy’s bra. “Dean” Sam waited. Still no reply. “Dean” he yelled in Dean’s ear. “What???” Dean’s said taking his eyes from Daisy. “We have to go on this cruise. It’s a hundred n’ eighty miles and we have to stop for clothes before leaving.” “Daisy sweetheart I can meet you after your shift, but I only have a couple of hours.” Even better Daisy thought and stated, “I only need a couple of hours; my place is about 10 minutes from here. You can let your brother have the car for shopping and I’ll get you back to the hotel by about 9AM. That should give you plenty of time to catch your boat.” “It’s not a boat it’s a ship,” came Sam’s irritated reply. “Every ship is a boat, but not every boat is a ship” was Daisy’s quick retort much to Dean’s amusement and Sam’s embarrassment.

“That sounds perfect, we don’t need two people to go Wal-Mart shopping,” Dean agreed easily ignoring bitch face number 5. Sam’s “no way I’m letting you do that” bitch face number 5 was definitely not Dean’s favorite. “Sounds great, enjoy your breakfast boys,” She winked at Dean and went to take another order. 

“Seriously Dean you’re leaving me to clothes shop at Wal-Mart, while you go get laid? How is that fair?” “How much shopping is there really? Plus we leave here at 10:AM at the latest so we’ll make it to Orlando way before 1PM. Please Sam it’s been so long since I had some in the sack fun. My last chick was the Amazon. I need to get laid before my balls turn permanently blue.” Dean tried to give Sam the puppy dog eyes which must have worked, because Sam huffed and held his hand out of the Impala’s keys. “Thank you Sam you’re the greatest.” “Greatest sucker you mean. Be sure she isn’t a monster this time please and no later then 9:30 AM Dean. I mean it I don’t want to miss the ship. And you can pay the bill.” Sam said standing up and heading towards the door. Missing Dean’s huge smile as he stuffed his face with eggs and apple pie. 

Sam got to the Wal-mart parking lot that was jam packed with cars. Sam parked way off in the parking lot away from the other cars that looked like rejects from Bobby’s salvage yard. No way would Sam risk the Impala next to one of those junkers. As Sam entered the store he bumped his head on the corner of a low hanging yellow smiley face Wal-Mart sign. Rubbing his forehead as his eyes watered from the sharp pain, he wiped the bit of blood on his pants. Seriously, he had fought and killed 6 vampires last night with Dean; but less then five minutes in Wal-Mart and already he got injured. He grabbed the only shopping cart and of course it had a bad wheel that made the thing want to veer left into the display of Cracker Jack popcorn boxes. Sam was surprised they still made Cracker Jacks so he grabbed a box vowing he wouldn’t share it with Dean. Sam easily found board shorts, dress pants and button down dress shirts for the dining room. His biggest challenge was finding a pair of swim trunks that fit right for his long legs. Most of the trunks came way above the knee and looked silly. Sam wasn’t picky, he couldn’t afford to be with his budget, but sometimes being 6’4 was a real pain in the ass. 

Looking at his watch he noticed it was already 9:30. Damn that went by fast! He wondered if there was some kind of Wal-Mart dimension that made time fly. Sam grabbed another pair of swim trunks really hoping these would fit. As he lifted the trunks another article of clothing caught his eye and he laughed a truly evil and delighted laugh. “Please be Dean’s size.” Sam said out loud. A female shopper with a small child heard the evil laugh, saw what he was holding and the blood on his forehead. Her eyes got huge and she rushed her child away from him like he was a serial killer. Sam didn’t care because yup this was Dean’s size. He tossed the article of clothing into the cart with glee and went back to the dressing room to try on his 6th pair of swim trunks. Thankfully, these fit perfectly and the shopping was completed. A light-hearted Sam left Wal-Mart making the long trek across the parking lot back to the Impala.

Sam arrived back at the hotel at 10:00 shocked at how long he took. Luckily Dean was there just getting dressed after taking a shower. Frankly, Sam was relieved. He didn’t want to drive three hours in the Impala with Dean’s Daisy sex stink on him. “Hey Sammy, what took so long? What the heck happened to your head?” Sam resisted the urge to throw the Wal-mart bag at Dean’s head. They check out of the hotel and headed off to Orlando for their first view of the Freedom of the Seas.


	2. Boarding the ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's going to have to leave Baby in a parking lot for seven days can he do it without having a panic attack?

The Impala sped down the 528 highway toward Port Canaveral, Florida; as Dean slapped the steering wheel to the beat of the music. His head bobbing along to the Metallica song Master of Puppets. He popped another handful of Cracker Jacks in his mouth and said between bites. “Damn Sam, I forgot how good these were. Who knew they still made ‘em.” So much for his vow, Sam thought as he watched Dean chew his way through the box. Brightside at least he can’t sing with his mouth full Sam thought with a smile.

“Okay, Astronaut Blvd. This is our exit,” Sam directed. Dean guided the Impala gracefully across three lanes of traffic while still bobbing his head along to the music. It was as if the car and driver were in perfect harmony. When they exited the highway a large ship came into view the black and gold hull of the ship stood out in the afternoon sun. “Holy crap! That thing is huge,” Dean remarked in surprise “Is that our ship?” “I don’t think so, I see mouse ears on the smoke stacks. That must be a Disney ship,” Sam said in awe of the modern marvel. “Our ship is bigger than that.” “Bigger??” Dean said surprised anything larger could stay afloat.

At that moment their ship came in to view; its size blowing Sam and Dean’s minds. They were stunned into silence. The ship was incredible with its 18 decks and rock climbing wall visible between two massive smoke stacks proudly displaying the crown and anchor logo of Royal Caribbean cruise lines. The white of the ship gleamed brightly against the dark blue rippling of the ocean. Dean was the first to regain his voice, “how big is that thing?” Having done hours of research on the ship Sam’s immediate answer was “1,112 feet long, it weighs 154,407 tons and has the capacity to fit 3,634 passengers and 1,360 crew members.” “Holy crap, you really are a geek!” Dean said laughing.

“Okay genius I got another question. If we’re going to be on that ship for seven days what the heck are we going to do with the Impala,” Dean wondered aloud. Sam cringed at Dean’s question. He had been avoiding this topic for as long as possible. He knew that Dean wasn’t going to like his answer and had anticipated a fight regarding the storage of Dean’s baby during the cruise. “Ah, yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that,” Sam stuttered out slowly. Dean felt his hackles rising. Whenever Sam stalled for time it wasn’t good news. “Spit it out Sam what do you think, we are doing with my baby?” Dean said as he rubbed a protective hand across the dashboard. “There’s a parking garage at the port. I was thinking we could leave her there.” “You want me to abandon baby in a public lot for seven days were anyone could bang into her doors, sit on her hood or possible do something worse?? Is this parking garage covered or an outdoor lot where she’ll be subjected to the elements?”

When Dean was really upset his voice tended to rise and he increased the speed of what he was saying. By the end of Dean’s rant his face was red and not just from the burning heat of the Florida afternoon. Sometimes a flannel shirt, jeans, and boots were not the most practical wardrobe. Sam wanted to roll his eyes at Dean’s comment regarding the elements of the outdoor parking lot; it was May in Florida and the only element was the sun beating down. Sam knew better than to roll his eyes and instead replied, “It’s a covered lot with security cameras. She’ll be safe, I promise.” Seeing no other option Dean followed the signs to the parking area. “She’d better be,” Dean said rubbing the bridge of his nose in obvious distress.

It took Dean thirty minutes of driving through the parking garage to find the best spot where his car would be safe for the seven day stay. “A hundred and twenty dollars Sam. A hundred and twenty dollars to park baby in a lot with spaces so small a mini cooper barely fits. There better be something worth killing on this damn boat.” “It’s a Ship Dean not a boat. Boats are something you put on a ship. For example; the life boats fit on the ship. The ship doesn’t fit on the life boat.” Sam felt the need to explain since the whole Daisy thing had really been bugging him.

“I don’t care, Sam. Explain the case to me again. All I got was some guy kicked the bucket because of scurvy.” Glad to be off the subject of Dean’s car and focused on the case, Sam was happy to explain “The victim was a 43 year old married man named Leon Menendez; his wife reported he had been eating lots of grapefruit and oranges during the cruise. After the second day of the cruise he discovered spots on his legs. He was exhausted all the time. By day five his teeth starting falling out, he was jaundiced with a high fever and bone pain. The ship’s doctor diagnosed scurvy, but no matter how much Vitamin C he was given Leon continued to get worst. By day six he was dead. The CDC was called in and they inspected. The ship was cleared. No reason was found for the scurvy or it’s resistance to treatment.” “Wow that sucks! So what’re you thinking?” Dean asked. “I don’t know, maybe witchcraft. The crew is comprised of people from all over the world. I’m sure one of the 1,360 crew members knows some witchcraft.” “Witches are so nasty, but hex sounds like a good bet,” Dean agreed.

Further discussion on the case would have to wait as Sam and Dean were walking up to the shuttle that would take them from the parking lot to the ship. The shuttle driver grabbed Sam and Dean’s duffle bags. Oh crap he’s going to want a tip, Dean thought as his bag was almost forcibly removed from his hands. Dean headed towards a seat with the best view of the doors, while still being able to keep an eye on his fellow shuttle passengers. Looking around him, Dean thought he had nothing to worry about. The other people were mainly families with small kids and a couple of “cougars” on the hunt.

Since he was now in his thirties, he was no longer considered the main prey of these cougars who looked to be in their mid to late forties. However, Sam was still in his twenties had their complete attention. “Why hello my name is Mindy.” The head cougar addressed Sam; her bright red hair sprayed and styled within an inch of its life. Mindy was wearing a skin tight black pencil skirt with slits up both sides showing toned tanned legs. She had on a leopard print shiny low cut scoop neck top. Dean considered himself a connoisseur of women’s breasts and knew for a fact the two Mindy was sporting didn’t exist in nature. The buoyant breasts defied gravity in a way natural breasts never could. Frankly, Dean was relieved to see Mindy on board this cruise ship; because if the ship sunk he was sure he could use Mindy’s fake ta-tas as a flotation device.

Currently those tetons were leaned up in his baby brother’s face. “I’m Sam nice to meet you,” Sam said politely while attempting to move away from Mindy. Unfortunately that had him sliding into the other cougar. This one had straight white blonde over processed hair and a spray on tan that was one shade away from Oompa-Loompa orange. This cougar had done away with subtlety entirely and was wearing silver spandex pants and a sequin silver butterfly halter top. Both cougars had figures that said they spent a lot of time working out at the gym. When Sam bumped into her, he immediately turned to apologize. “I’m so sorry.” “That’s alright Sam. I don’t mind. My name is Sheila. I’m traveling with Mindy. Is this your first cruise?” Both women had so crowded into his space it was surprising Sam hadn’t fallen off the shuttle seat. “Yes it is. I’m traveling with my brother, Dean.” Sam looked over at Dean with a trapped, help me, look that made it very hard for Dean to keep a straight face.

Mindy turned and noticed the green eyed man sitting across from them. Sure he was a bit older then she normally went for. But damn! She wanted to write a thank you letter to Sam and Dean’s parents for reproducing and gracing the world with such fine specimens of manhood. “Well hello brother Dean. I see good looks run in your family,” purred Mindy. “It’s a pleasure to be traveling with such lovely ladies,” Dean replied flashing his most charming smile. This was when the shuttle stopped at the security line for the cruise ship. The shuttle driver was back in two seconds helping Mindy and Shelia with their bags and gazing at them in adoration. Shelia laid a hand on Sam’s arm and said “I look forward to learning more about you on this cruise Sam,” she slowly slid her hand down Sam’s arm and headed off the shuttle. Sam was more then glad to see both Mindy and Shelia leave in a cloud of vanilla scented perfume.

“Dude you totally didn’t help me there,” Sam said in a disappointed voice. “Sure I did Sammy. I distracted Mindy from you,” Dean said with a laugh. “Oh by the way I think Shelia had on body glitter because you have some on your arm,” Dean smirked as he made his way out of the shuttle to where the driver had unloaded their bags. Sam wiped at the silver glitter, but instead of removing it his attempts only spread it around. He gave up the vain attempt and headed off the shuttle. He tipped the shuttle driver and headed toward where Dean was fighting with a porter who was attempting to check their bags. “I’m sorry sir. You’ll have to check these duffle bags. They are too large for the x-ray machine.” Dean knew he would have to give up, but he didn’t like it. He and Sam traveled so much they had very few changes of clothing and he was reluctant to give these up and risk losing them. “Alright just don’t lose it,” Dean said. “Do you have luggage tags?” the porter snapped at Dean rudely.

Dean was at the end of his rope and about to lose it with the rude porter. Sam recognized the tense set of Dean’s body and the twitching vein in the middle of his forehead. Sam smoothly stepped in. “I’m sorry sir; we didn’t realize we had to check the bags so we didn’t print out the tags. Can you print them out here? This is only our second cruise and the last one was 10 years ago,” Sam lied smoothly flashing the porter with what he hoped was a sincere smile and ten dollar tip. Sam knew he was over tipping the porter. However, it worked like a charm. The porter got much friendly after the money was handed over. He took their fake passports to look up their cruise reservations and get their correct cabin number. “Okay sir, I have your bags. You’re in cabin 7298; just head through security line. Once through security, you can go directly to VIP check in as past guests,” the porter smiled brightly as he walked away with the two duffle bags.

Sam and Dean headed for the long security line. Sam realized he smelled like Shelia’s vanilla scented perfume and the strong odor was giving him a headache. “Why did you book us as past guests?” Dean wondered aloud. “Past guests get priority check in and a past guest party with free alcohol.” The words free alcohol brightened Dean’s mood up quite a bit. Since they no longer had bags, Sam and Dean made it through the security check point easily. Dean was glad they didn’t find the short silver knife strapped to his upper thigh. No way was he going on a hunt naked.

Sam and Dean made their way up the escalator to the check-in lines. Dean let out a groan as he saw the long line for check in. Until he realized Sam had booked them as past guests and they would be using the almost empty VIP gold member line. Dean loved his geeky little baby brother as they moved quickly through the check-in line. They passed Mindy and Shelia standing in the long check-in line wearing the most uncomfortable looking stilettos heels. Dean gave them a little wave, that was returned, but the ladies looked annoyed to see Sam and Dean speeding past them in the VIP line.

Soon Sam and Dean were standing in front of the smiling Royal Caribbean customer service representative. They filled out a quick health questionnaire and she informed them of their dining time at 5:45PM and cabin number 7298. Then they were off to get their sail and sign card photos. Dean hit the camera lady with his best blue steel look and heard Sam snickering in line behind him. The camera lady smiled a genuine smile and thanked him. Next up was the photo op; they declined this and walked down the gangway to the ship. The first refreshing blast of air conditioning hit them as they entered the ship greeted by more crew members. “The staterooms aren’t ready quite yet. But we have a buffet lunch waiting at the windjammer cafe on deck 11. You can use the glass elevators to the right of you.”

Dean muttered a wide-eyed thank you as he got his first view of the massive ship. They were in an open atrium area that gave them an impressive view of the glass balconies for each of the fifteen passenger decks. The soft white neon lights around the balconies added a feeling of class and elegance to the ship. Dean looked over to Sam who had the same slack jawed look on his face. “Amazing” was all Sam said.

Dean’s stomach had heard the words “buffet lunch,” even through his brain was still taking in this amazing ship and it growled in protest that Dean wasn’t moving to the glass elevators fast enough. He started heading for the elevators, lead by his insistent stomach. Sam trailed behind trying in vain to see everything at once. The ride on the glass elevators was interesting as they got their first look at the Royal Promenade area with all the Promenade stateroom windows looking down onto the walking area. It reminded Dean of a high class mall. Dean was distracted from his staring by Sam’s laugh. “I guess they don’t want us to forget what day it is,” he said pointing one large booted foot at the title on the floor of the elevator stating in orange writing that today was Sunday.

The elevator startled both Sam and Dean when a computerize female voice proclaimed Deck 11. They hopped off the elevator and as they entered the windjammer café, a Filipino crew member in white framed sunglasses was playing the guitar and singing Beatles songs in a pleasant strongly accented voice. He smiled at Sam and Dean as they used the hand sanitizers. Dean got his first view of the windjammer buffet. For a man that spent most of his life eating food heated from Quickie-Mart microwaves, this place was like a food paradise. Drool settled in his mouth as his stomach gave a growl of approval at the delicious food display.

Sam laughed at the look on Dean’s face. “Why don’t I find us a seat while you get some food? But don’t eat too much Dean. We have dinner in a couple of hours.” “Not going to be a problem Sam, I look forward to the challenge.” Sam laughed as he headed to a two person table in front of the large glass windows overlooking the dock. Dean came back with two overloaded plates of food including, much to Sam’s surprise, a plate loaded with fresh cut fruit. Sam grabbed a slice of melon off Dean’s fruit plate and headed to the best looking salad bar he had ever seen in his life. There were varieties of lettuce Sam had never seen before, but couldn’t wait to taste. As he walked back to the table he realized his plate was just as full as Dean’s despite his warning of the early dining time.

Dean was happily chewing away, when Sam sat down. A man two tables away caught both Sam and Dean’s attention because he was yelling at a dining staff crew member. “Are you that stupid that you don’t know the difference between water and orange juice??? I asked for orange juice. Do I need to talk slower for your dumb ass to get it?” At which point the man stated in exaggerated slowness. “Orange Juice!” His poor wife was ten shades of red in embarrassment. The poor crew member was apologizing while rushing to get the man’s orange juice.

About that time a loud noise like a whip sounded through the air and the angry man screamed out in agony. As Sam and Dean looked on, blood was showing through the man’s torn white polo shirt. Another loud whipping noise was heard and another scream erupted from the man who was clearly being flogged, however, no one was around to whip him. After five hits the man collapsed into a heap on the floor. His formally embarrassed wife was now screaming in terror. Just as suddenly as the beating started it stopped. The man, was pale from shock, was covered in his own blood and his shirt was in tatters. The crew quickly got him loaded onto a gurney and headed for the medical bay. Sam and Dean stared at each other in surprise. “What the hell was that?” Dean said as his EMF meter started buzzing loudly in his jean pocket.


	3. First day of the cruise

Dean stared longingly at his half eaten plate as he turned off his EMF meter. Sam was already standing up and walking over to the upset female crew member that witnessed the attack on angry orange juice man. Sam came in with his best empathic face. “Are you alright?” He asked the crew member whose name tag showed Althea from Jamaica. “I tink so; I’m just shocked. I don know what happen to dat mon.” She replied with a strong Jamaican accent.

“He seemed pretty mad over such a small thing as the wrong drink. It must be difficult to deal with people like that.” Sam said. Dean was nodding his head in agreement trying for his most supportive face.

“I just started my six month contract on dis ship. But Rose from the entertainment staff warned me dat Mr. Castillo was demandin.” Althea replied.

Dean joined the conversation at this point “How would Rose know that? Today is the first day of the cruise.”

“Mr. Castillo was on back to back cruises.” Seeing Sam and Dean’s confused looks she explained. “Some of our regular customers will book two cruises at once. Dat’s why the ship has two different cruise itineraries. We change ports every other week. Last week we cruised to Bahamas, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Dis week is Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Mexico and Haiti. Mr. Castillo was on last week’s cruise. My friend Rose, we met during a six month contract on the Jewel of the Seas, said Fat Mr. Castillo made her miserable last week. What do you tink happen to him?”

“No idea. By the way I’m Sam and this is my brother Dean,” Sam said with a smile.

Althea returned his smile and replied, “I’m Althea, tank you for your concern. Please finish your lunch. Is there anyting I can get you?”

“Can I get a screwdriver please and heavy on the screw,” Dean replied with a wink. They returned back to the table.

Dean was grateful to be back with his plate. He took a bite of his cheeseburger and moaned in ecstasy. “I missed you baby,” he said fondly to the burger. Bitch face number 7 made an appearance on Sam’s face. Number 7 was Sam’s ‘Dean’s embarrassing me in public again’ bitch face. Dean had seen bitch face number 7 a lot. Sam was much too easily embarrassed.

“Do you and the burger want some time alone?” Sam asked sarcastically.

Dean took another bite and gave another moan. At that moment Althea appeared with Dean’s screwdriver. Taking a sip Dean sighed, “Ahhh. Nothing like a good screw. By the way Althea, this burger kicks the ass of any Quickie Mart burger I’ve ever had,” Althea smiled at the pure pleasure and joy on Dean’s face.

“It’s good to see a man with a healthy appetite. My husband loves cheeseburgers as well,” she said with a fond yet sad smile. Even though she was only away from her husband two days, she already missed him. Dean’s reaction to the cheeseburger reminded her of her husband. Along with Sam’s kindness she felt an immediate connection with both brothers. They were good people and it was a pleasure to serve people like them.

“If you need anything else just let me know.” Althea went off to help the other diners since the lunch area was becoming more crowded.

As Sam and Dean finished their lunch they discussed the case. “Are you still thinking this is a witch?” Dean asked Sam.

“That man, Mr. Castillo, was definitely being whipped by an invisible force and with the scurvy on the last cruise it really sounds like hex work to me. Do you think Rose could be the witch?” Sam asked.

“That guy was a massive dick and if she already spent a week with him maybe she wanted to punish him. Plus he was yelling at her friend right before the attack. We know Althea can’t be the witch since she just boarded the ship. We need a way to get close to Rose; any ideas on how to do that?” Dean asked hopefully.

Sam replied, “No clue. I say we continue with the cruise and be on the look out. Since she’s part of the entertainment staff she’ll probably interact with the passengers.”

Sam and Dean finished their lunch with Dean enjoying a second and third screwdriver. Sam headed back to the glass elevators with a buzzed and relaxed Dean. However, there was a crowd of cruisers, including an old gentleman on a rascal scooter. They decided to take the stairs down to deck seven and find their cabin. Dean spotted the plate with the cabin numbers that listed cabins 7100 to 7300 and pretty soon they were standing in front of cabin 7298.

Dean swayed on his feet as he eagerly put his sail and sign card in the card slot. But the light remained red. “Man this boat is really rockin’ now!”  
“Dean,” Sam said exasperation coloring his voice, “we haven’t even left the dock yet.”

Dean frowned at the stubborn door and tried the card again. Again nothing happened. A third time he tried with the same results. Sam was standing behind him watching the exchange between his brother and the door. He could feel Dean’s frustration and tried hard not to laugh. Sam knew what the problem was, but since Dean hung him out to dry with the cougars on the shuttle, Sam had no desire to help out his baffled brother.

By the sixth swipe of the card Sam’s patience dried up. “Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” With those words Sam grabbed the card out of Dean’s hand, flipped it around and slid it back into the slot. The resulting beep, flashing green light and Sam’s laughter were some of the most irritating noises Dean had heard all day.

“Shut up Sam.” Dean slurred as he stumbled into the cabin. Dean stopped in the middle of the doorway.

Sam not realizing it walked into Dean’s back. “What the heck Dean? Why did you stop?” Dean silently stepped out of the way to reveal the large queen size bed in the center of the cabin. “No way am I sleeping with you!” Sam said quickly.

“Do you put on the reservation that we’re brothers and request two twins?” Dean asked.

Sam ran a hand through is hair pushing it out of his eyes rubbing his forehead and looking uncomfortable. “I’m not sure. The ship was almost full, so I rushed through the booking process. I honestly can’t remember what I booked.” Sam said looking at the queen sized bed with distaste.

Smirking at Sam Dean jumped on the queen sized bed almost missing it entirely. “Guess you’re on the floor then Sammy.”

“No way Dean! I’ll get this straightened out.” He said walking over to the phone.

Just as he picked up the phone they heard a knock at the door. Sam answered it and was greeted by a crew member with a name tag that stated Melinda; also from Jamaica. “Hello, I’m your cabin steward, Melinda.” She said with a much milder accent then Althea.

“Hello, I’m Sam and this is my brother Dean. I’m hoping you can help us. We need a cabin with two beds, not one queen size bed.” Sam said hopefully not looking forward to spending the night on the hard looking cabin floor.

“No worries. Sam these beds are two twins pushed together to make a queen bed. I can rearrange the beds. This will be completed by the time you come back from dinner,” She said with a smile making a note on her clipboard.

Sam gave her a relieved dimpled smile that made her knees go weak, “thank you so much.”

“Also I should inform you the muster drill is at 5:PM. All passengers are required by law to attend. Your muster station is B11. You won’t need to bring your lifejacket. It’s in the closet. Sail away is shortly after the muster drill around 6:PM. If there is anything else you need don’t hesitate to ask.” She turned to address both Sam and Dean. She noticed how enticing Dean looked laying on the bed legs spread wide, head leaned up against his hand a drunken smile playing on those full lips. She was counting her blessing that they were assigned to her area.

“Thank you, I look forward to you fulfilling my needs,” Dean said with a wink unable to resist the urge to flirt with the flustered cabin steward.

Melinda gave a nod of her head bumping into the door on her way out because she had trouble taking her eyes off Sam and Dean. She finally escaped the boys’ cabin. Dean controlled his urge to laugh when Melinda bumped into the door. He was feeling quite complimented that he could so easily throw her off her game. At that moment an announcement for the muster drill came over the speaker in their room.

After the quick painless muster drill Dean and Sam returned back to their rooms to see their bags have been delivered. Dean let out a sigh of relief to see their bags. “Oh good our bags are here. We have just enough time to change for dinner;” Sam said grabbing up his duffel bag and digging through for clothes.

“Why would I change for dinner? What’s wrong with what I have on now?” Dean questioned with a frown.

“There’s a dress code in the dining room and jeans aren’t allowed. I got us slacks and dress shirts.” Sam said pulling out his black slacks and royal blue dress shirt.

“Dress code? Do we have to eat in the dining room?” Dean whined.

“Yes, if we want to meet more of the staff on this ship.” Sam said pulling off his jeans and putting on his slacks.

Dean knew Sam was right so he gave up the argument and started to change into the black slacks and forest green dress shirt. Dean noted with relief that both his and Sam’s dress shirts were cool comfortable cotton with short sleeves. In fact, Dean was cooler and more comfortable in his fancy dining clothes, which were more suited to the heat and humidity of Florida, than his heavy jeans, flannel shirt and boots. Reaching into his bag he pulled out the thin black dress socks and the leather black loafers. Dean knew he made a wise decision letting Sam do the clothes shopping for the trip, not that he would ever admit that to Sam.

They headed to the Isaac dining room. Again they abandoned the crowded elevators for the empty stairs quickly descending three decks to deck four. There was a crowd of people standing in front of the dining room doors including Mindy and Sheila who had also changed for dinner. Sheila was now dressed in a hot pink skintight iridescent off the shoulder dress. The color of the dress clashing with the orange tint of her skin. Her hair was looking much better tied back in a low ponytail with a few pieces framing her face in a pleasant way softening her features.

Mindy was wearing a white halter dress that reminded Dean of Marilyn Monroe’s dress in the movie The Seven Year Inch. She had a large white silk flower barrette holding back the right side of her soft flowing red hair. It would have been a good look if not for the tons of costume jewelry around her neck and on her wrists.

Sam spotted the ladies before they spotted him and Dean. He quickly moved out of their sight breathing a sigh of relief that the ladies hadn’t spotted them. He looked over to Dean who was smirking at him. “What’s a matter Sammy, don’t want your girlfriend to see us?”

Sam gave Dean a glare and said, “It’s Sam.” The dinning room doors opening stopped Dean’s retort. The host directed Sam and Dean to table 109. Sam was happy to see the table 109 was tucked away in the back corner where Mindy and Shelia wouldn’t see them. The two cougars were being directed to a table at the other side in the middle of the dining room.

Sam and Dean’s table was a round table that seated eight people total. They were the first to arrive and took their seats with their backs against the wall. From this position they could view the whole dining room. Shortly after, a couple arrived. The man was tall with closely cut brown hair that gave the impression of being military. His wife was in her thirties with medium length sleek blonde hair. She greeted them with her Georgia peach accent creating a slight lithe to her voice. “Hello my name is Kayla and this is my husband Austin.” She laughed a bit at that causing Austin to smile brightly at her.

“What?” Sam asked.

“We were just married yesterday. It still feels strange and wonderful to introduce Austin as my husband.” She said with fond smile to Austin who in leaned in for a soft kiss.

Sam and Dean smiled at the exchange. Once the newlyweds refocused, Sam introduced themselves. “This is my brother Dean and I’m Sam.”

Two women in their mid forties were walking up to the table, taking the seats to the right of Sam and Dean. Unlike Mindy and Shelia they were dressed in age appropriate attire and didn’t appear to be on the hunt. “Hi my name is Sandy and this is my friend June.” The taller of the two women introduced. “Our husbands don’t enjoy cruising so we left them at home with the kids.” Sandy explained an evil smile.

That got a laugh from the table as the last couple approached the taking the last two seats available. The husband was in his late thirties with thick glasses and a nervous expression that said he wasn’t use to social situations. His wife was a perfect fit for him with her studious appearance. She was wearing a long prairie skirt and shirt buttoned up to the top button. She was also in thick glasses; her mousey brown hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. “Hello my name is Gertrude, but you can call me Trudy, and this is my husband Waldo.” Which was ironic considering Waldo was wearing a red and white striped shirt. Sam kicked Dean under the table when he saw Dean open his mouth to make a crack. “Ouch.” Dean said flicking Sam in the back of the head. Sandy and June watched the brothers with amused smile.

The head waitress and assistant waiter came to the table. The head waitress introduced herself as Nelda and her assistant was Antonio their nametags showing they were from both Portugal. Antonio handed Sam and Dean a thick fancy menu. Sam was already cringing when he saw the elaborate silverware set up. He and Dean had never eaten in a fancy restaurant with this many folks. Sam tried not to show his discomfort as he gazed at the menu which was list menu items for each course. “First cruise?” June asked Sam smiling kindly.

“Does it show?” Sam said with a nervous laugh.

“Don’t worry, me and Sandy are old hats at this. We’ll help you out. There’s no limit on what you order; if you want two appetizers; order two. If you want to skip dessert; skip it. Easy peasy.” She finished with a bright smile. Sam felt instantly more at ease.

“Thank you.” Sam said quietly.

Dean jumped in at that moment and asked June. “So I can have both Prime rib and the pasta for my entrée course?”

“Yup” June answered simply. Dean flashed June a radiant smile.

“How many cruises have to been on?” Dean asked.  
“Sandy’s been on twelve cruises this is my ninth cruise. I’ve had more days at sea.”

To which Sandy jumped in. “Only because she cheated and did a fourteen day cruise.” Sandy teased her friend with a smile. Sam figured they had a “most days at sea” competition going.

“Fourteen days on a ship. Wow. That’s a long time. Didn’t you get sick of the ship” Sam asked.

“Nope. I love the sea. It was a transatlantic cruise with five days crossing the Atlantic. Sea days are very relaxing, plus the entertainment staff plans a lot of fun activities on sea days. We only have two on this cruise. Tomorrow is the first one and our first formal night.” Sandy explained.

Sam cringed. Formal night was another thing he had been avoiding telling Dean about. Dean didn’t like to wear a tuxedo. It was Sam’s plan to rent the formal tuxedos from the ship since they didn’t have a need for formal wear when hunting. He glanced over to see Dean’s face and sure enough Dean was frowning at his bread roll.

“Formal night, does that mean I have to wear a monkey suit.” Dean asked with narrowed eyes.

“We can rent the tux from the ship so don’t worry Dean.” Sam said quickly purposefully misunderstanding Dean’s frown. Dean let the subject go as more food arrived. Dean went to town on his Vidalia Onion Tart again embarrassing Sam with his moans of pleasure. The head waitress smiled at hearing Dean’s pleasured moans. “I take it you like the food?” Nelda asked with a smile.

“Best thing I’ve put in my mouth all day,” he said with a smile ignoring Sam’s eye roll.

“Thirty-five” Dean mumbled under his breath.

“What?” Kayla questioned.

“The number of times Sam has rolled his eyes at me today. I like to keep track. The record is seventy seven. He was a teenager at the time, but I still think he’ll beat the record some day, so I keep track.” Sam blushed scarlet red; which the ladies at the table thought was adorable.

Once again Sandy and June entertained the table talking about the different cruise ships they had traveled on.

Waldo finally piped in. “We chose this ship because of it’s ties to the fleet of 1715.” He said as though the sentence made sense without further detail.

Sam’s “need to know” prompted him to ask, “What’s the fleet of 1715?”

“In 1715 a Spanish fleet of eleven Spanish treasure ships were caught in a hurricane and sunk. There was a 12th ship which was French sailed ahead and managed to bypass the hurricane. Over 14 million pesos in gold and silver and over thousand sailor’s lives were lost. Only six of the eleven ships have been found. They sunk right near Port Canaveral where we sailed from. In fact, sometimes after a big storm, beach goers will find gold pesos washed up on the beach.” Waldo’s eyes sparkled as he enjoyed the retelling of his favorite story.

“Huh, fascinating.” Sam said truly interested in what the geeky Waldo had to say. However, a look around the table showed mostly bored expressions. Waldo looked like he was about to go on with this story, but the waitress and waiter arrived with their entrées. Suddenly Sam couldn’t blame Dean for his excitement. They never got food this good. The aroma of his grilled Mahi Mahi with tomatillos salsa started Sam’s mouth watering. Dean’s end cut of Prime Rib looked perfectly cooked. They had given him a side order of Shrimp Ravioli with coconut lime sauce that made Sam wish he had ordered it too, no words were spoken at the table as the guests enjoyed their dinners.

For dessert after a quick game of “eenie meenie miney mo” Sam decided on the Grand Marnier Soufflé. Dean ordered the Key Lime Pie. When Sam’s dessert arrived the waitress made a hole in the center and poured on this decadent vanilla sauce called Crème Anglaise. It looked delicious, but left Sam in a quandary, should he use a spoon or a fork? His hand hovered over the silverware his brow creased in thought.

Sandy who ordered the same thing pulled him out of his thoughts by saying. “I never know if I should use a fork or a spoon. I’m going with a spoon,” she said picking up her spoon and started eating.

Sam gave her a grateful smile, “I had no idea either. Spoon sounds good to me.” He picked up his spoon and started in on the light as air soufflé.

“It’s like angels made this.” Kayla said.

To which Dean gave an amused laugh. “Better” he replied eating his Key Lime pie enthusiastically.

When Nelda came back to the table Dean took her hand and kissed it gently. “Thank you for serving us such a wonderful meal.” Nelda was blushing with pleasure and Antonio was looking on with a smile. When Nelda was in a good mood things were easier for him.

“Muito obrigada bonito senhor,” Nelda said in Portuguese.

“What does that mean?” Dean asked.

“Thank you very much sir.” Nelda said in English.

“It’s a beautiful language for a beautiful woman.” Dean said, charming Nelda completely.

With that, Sam and Dean said their goodbyes and headed back to the cabin for some shut eye. The dinner had lasted nearly two hours, although the time seemed to fly by. After the drive from Georgia, the early morning plus Dean’s exercise with Daisy he was exhausted. Sam needed sleep also after that Wal-mart shopping experience and fighting off the advances of cougar Shelia. This time Dean opened the cabin door after only three tries glaring at Sam when he started to grab the sail and sign card. “Stupid door,” Dean muttered under his breath. Sam wisely refrained from comment.

Thankfully, two comfortable looking twin beds awaited the boys. Entering the room they noticed the window seat next to the bed. On it there was a towel animal made to look like an elephant. The elephant was wearing Sam’s sunglasses. They also noticed an activity paper for tomorrow on the bed called Cruise Compass.

Dean crossed to the window seat and looked out at the Royal Promenade two decks below them. “This is so cool. Check out this window Sammy. We can look down women’s shirts from up here.” He said.

“That is pretty awesome.” Sam agreed looking and expertly made elephant. “I wonder how they make these animals.”

Putting down the elephant, Sam joined Dean at the window. There was a bridge to the left of them, but at the same level and below they could watch their fellow cruisers at all the different shops that dotted the Royal Promenade.

“That is a good view.” Sam replied.

“There goes your girlfriend.” Dean replied spotting Sheila. “Wow she really is orange isn’t she? Do you think your kids will be orange, too?” Dean said with a laugh at his own joke.

“Ha Ha. I’m going to bed.” Sam replied sarcastically, striping down to a t-shirt and boxer shorts. When he got into bed he sighed happily. Years of cheap motel mattresses and he didn’t know what he’d been missing.

“Dean you got to try the bed!” The bed sheets were a much higher quality than Sam was used to. Plus the bed, wow, that bed; it was firm but not too firm and for once his feet weren’t hanging off the edge.

Climbing into his bed Dean sighed in happiness as well. “This is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in and these sheets are so soft. It’s like sleeping on a cloud. So far, I love cruising.” Dean said smiling. The gentle rocking of the sea along with the comfortable beds had Sam and Dean asleep in less than five minutes.

Dean and Sam slept in until 9AM getting in almost 12 hours. They never got that kind of sleep. Hunting the vampires in Georgia they hadn’t been injured, but they were thrown around and took some hits. Their bodies were tried, sore, and were in desperate need for sleep. The sounds of children running in the hall caused Dean to jolt out of bed in shock. Sam was also jerked awake by the noise. “What the hell time is it that brats are running down the hallway like elephants on 20 shots of espresso?” Dean asked in a pissed off voice.

Sam rolled over and grabbed his watch from the night stand. “Dude, it’s already 9AM. We slept 12 hours.” Said Sam eyes wide with shock.

Dean shrugged, rubbing his eyes, to late to worry now. “Dude that was the most comfortable bed. It’s no wonder we slept in.” Dean said with a smile.

“You’re not lying.” Sam said kind of sad to get out of his cozy warm bed. “There a gym on deck 11. It has a boxing ring. We can do some training.” Sam suggested.

Dean agreed with training. They changed into workout clothes and headed to the Shipshape Fitness Center. Dean eyed the elevators but somehow taking an elevator to workout made no sense. So up the stairs they went.

They both stopped cold when they saw the fitness center. Neon pink and blue lights highlighted the modern gym equipment. About 20 treadmills were lined up in front of a large circular window giving the people working out a perfect view of the ocean. Elliptical machines, stationary bicycles, Everlast heavy bags for boxing, every kind of weight machine imaginable along with free weights were set up in the large space. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large boxing ring. The ropes were red, white, and blue and in the center of the ring was the Royal Caribbean logo. Dean felt like a kid in a candy store as they headed to the treadmills.

Sam and Dean did 30 minutes running in tandem on the treadmills enjoying the view. After the warm up they lifted free weights and used some of the fancy weight machines. Then they hit the heavy bag; one holding the bag while the other went to work throwing various punches. That was when some of the other gym goers started watching, amazed at the speed and force behind their punches. After trading off on the bag for about half an hour, one of the crew members, whose job included personal training at the fitness center, approached them. “Those are some nice moves. Are you guys fighters?” Sam wasn’t sure how to answer.

Dean saved him the trouble. “No. We just enjoy a good workout. We were interested in sparring in the boxing ring. Can we do that?” he asked. The crew member whose name tag showed he was from Croatia with the name Andro was very interested in see them spar. Andro had noticed that Sam and Dean worked together seamlessly during their workout session. They were effective and rarely needed to speak. Sam and Dean were quite a change from his usual clients of middle aged business men. “Of course you can. I just need to see if the ring is available and sign you in. Can I see your sail and sign card?” Dean quickly handed his over, eager to spar in a real boxing ring. Looking over Sam appeared equally excited at the prospect.

“Christina can you grab the boxing gloves?” Andro called out to his assistant.

Andro took his card and swiped it through the machine signing them out for a half hour session. “Here you are Mr. Osbourne. You’re all set.”  
While they waited for Christina to come back with the gloves, Sam asked. “So I heard the entertainment staff is a blast. Someone was talking about Rose being really good with activities.”  
Andro smiled, “Glenda is pure fun.” At Sam blank look. Andro smiled “Glenda is our nickname for Rose. As in Glenda, the good witch from the Wizard of Oz. Rose is from Canewdon, England.”

To which Sam interrupted asking, “is Rose’s last name Pye?”

Andro smiled in surprise, “You know Canewdon? Yes her great great great grandaunt was the original Rose Pye. Here we are.” Andro said as Christina came over with the boxing gloves. Andro handed Dean back is card and helped him on with his boxing gloves. He then helped Sam into a second set.

“Thank you. I’m Sam by the way.”

Once they were both in the ring, the boys came out fighting. Dean came at Sam with a series of quick jabs that Sam blocked easily. Sam did a perfectly executed round house kick, that with his long legs, Dean just barely avoided. Dean did hit Sam on the chin with a haymaker that had Sam rocking back on his heels. However, Sam quickly recovered and returned the favor by catching Dean with a right cross. Sam and Dean continued the sparring unaware of the crowd that had gathered to watch the fight. Dean finally downed Sam with a roundhouse kick quickly followed by pinning Sam into the mat. They both looked up in surprise at the rousing round of applause. This is when Dean noticed the crowd and couldn’t resist the urge to take a bow. That turned out of be a mistake as Sam did a leg sweep to knock Dean off his feet mid bow. “You shouldn’t take your eyes off your opponent,” teased Sam helping his brother back up. The crowd erupted in laughter.

“He’s cheating again because he can’t beat me fair.” Dean addressed the crowd. “Jerk” Sam said quickly followed by “Bitch” from Dean who was smiling at his Sasquatch of a “little” brother.

Andro came over to them addressing Dean. “That was remarkable. The speed of your jabs I was surprised Sam avoided them.”

“This ring is amazing,” Sam raved. “We never get to work out in something this nice.”

“You should come back and use it again.” Andro invited. At that, Sam and Dean ahead back to the cabin for a quick shower then breakfast at the buffet.

Sam brought the Cruise Compass to breakfast and was skimming it for activities that Rose Pye was leading. Dean was happily chewing on a custom made omelet from the omelet bar. He also had an assortment of pastries, and a load of freshly cooked crispy bacon. By this time the breakfast buffet was closing down as it was 11:15.

“It looks like Rose has an activity going on at 11:45AM. That gives us enough time to finish breakfast, change and head to the main pool.” Sam said showing Dean the Cruise Compass.

“You want us to join this event don’t you?” Dean said with a sigh.

“Yes. We need to determine if Rose is hexing people. Canewdon, England is famous for witches. Canewdon is said to always have at least six witches living there. It sounds like Rose is the descendant of the original Rose Pye who was arrested for bewitching a 12 month old child and causing her death. Rose was found innocent, but still died in jail.” Sam replied with a sigh of his own. He didn’t want to join this event anymore than Dean.

They finished up breakfast and headed to the cabin. Dean needed some alone time in the bathroom, while Sam changed his clothes for the event. It was about 10 minutes before the event when Dean emerged from the bathroom; Sam was already changed. “We’re running short of time Dean, get a move on.”

“Why don’t you head up and sign us in while I change. Did you get the thing while you were in Wal-mart” Dean replied.

“Yup it’s in the front pocket of your duffel bag.” Sam said with laughter in his voice. He opened the door and quickly left before Dean could open his bag. Dean opened the bag and stared in horror at the offending article of clothing. Sam booking it down the hall heard Dean’s yell of “Damn it Sam! I’m going to kill you!” Sam’s laughter rang down the hall startling his fellow passengers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW Nelda lied to Dean, “Muito obrigada bonito senhor” really means “thank you very much beautiful sir.”


	4. It's not a Speedo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean join World's Sexiest Man Contest in order to investigate a suspected witch.

Sam approached the pool event area nervously. He saw the stage with a runway that went right over the middle pool. Hot tubs, located to the left and right of the stage, were full of people relaxing to watch the event. There was a movie screen behind the stage with the event name proudly proclaimed in large blue letters "World's Sexiest Man Contest." Sam gulped down his nerves and headed to the crew member with the clipboard signing men up for the contest. Already three other competitors were signed in waiting for the event to start.  
"Hi there, are you signing up for the event?" said the crew member whose nametag read Gavin from Wales.  
"Yes, my brother is supposed to meet me here; he wanted to sign up too."  
"Sounds great! You got in just under the wire. Can I see your sail n' sign card?"  
Sam handed over the card still in a bit of shock that he was entering this contest.  
"Okay Sam just let me know when your brother arrives and we will check him in. The contest is set to start in 10 minutes so I can only hold off a bit longer. But be prepared to give us your best Tom Jones," Gavin said with a smile.  
Sam nodded his understanding. Then, Gavin walked away preparing other aspects of the contest. Sam shifted from foot to foot, hoping his gag with the swimsuit didn't backfire on him and Dean refused to show up. However, Dean never backed off a hunt in his life no matter what stupid thing he had to wear. Sam remembered the red gym shorts with a fond smile. Sam figured he would show up. Just then, Sam caught sight of a red faced, clearly pissed Dean wearing a white Royal Caribbean robe. Sam couldn't help the laughter that welled up inside him. This was going to be so good, Sam thought. Dean walked over to Sam, shifting his legs from side to side as through he was trying to move his clothing into a more comfortable position.  
"I can't believe you, Sam. What were you thinking?" Dean demanded.  
"I don't know what you mean," Sam said innocently. "We need to get you signed in."  
"That is not an answer Sam!" Dean said, refusing to be lead off his point. "I'm wearing a freakin' Speedo over here." He said shifting his legs again.  
Sam corrected Dean patiently. "Actually, those are boy shorts not a Speedo. It's a completely different design."  
"Dude my boys barely fit in here! I don't care about the design. I care about the lack of material," Dean exclaimed and rolled his hips to dislodge the suit.  
Sam started laughing until tears were dripping from his eyes. "Seriously Dean, stop it. You're making my sides hurt."  
Sam's laughter caught Gavin's attention and he came over "Hi are you the brother? Ready to sign up?" Dean nodded. "Can I get your sail n' sign card?"  
"Yeea, thanks," Dean said, still shooting glares at Sam who was snorting with laughter.  
Rose appeared on stage introducing the contest and the judges. There were three female judges, and to Sam and Dean's horror they knew all three. Their cruising queen and table mate in the dining room, Sandy, was present, wearing comfortable black swim shorts and a matching black and white tankini. She was smiling and waving to the crowd when Rose introduced her. Shelia sat next to her, looking slightly less orange than the day before, her spray on tan was wearing off. However, her hot pink string bikini was still clashing with the slightly orange tone of her skin. Finally, the head judge was announced. Mindy was wearing a bright green bikini with a bandeau style top, the simple elegance of the design over shadowed by the chunky, gaudy green costume jewelry she wore. All three judges were wearing large sunglasses to protect their eyes from the hot afternoon sun. Sam let out a groan at their bad luck. Seeing the judges, Dean pulled the sides of his robe tighter. If looks could kill Sam would be deader than a doornail.  
Rose explained that each contestant would be given a song and 2 minutes to show their best dance moves to the judges. The judges would write scores from 1 to 10 on their judging paddles. The first contestant, Josh, came onto the stage as the song Baby Got Back started to play. But Josh got stage fright, barely moving around the stage and looking painfully embarrassed. He got a sympathetic five from Sandy. Mindy and Shelia, however, were more demanding and scored him a one from Mindy and a two from Shelia. Rose tried to pump up the crowd for the next contestant. Ed was next in his mid-thirties and dressed up for the occasion in cutoff jean shorts with a slight beer belly. His fake mullet wig made Dean smile, thinking of Ash. His shirt said Where's the Beef? During his dance he took off the jean shorts to show a pair of yellow speedos proclaiming, Here's the Beef! His beer belly jiggled with each dance move. Sam and Dean couldn't help laughing at the comical display. The audience ate it up. He scored a ten from Sandy, a nine from Shelia and an eight from Mindy. Mindy was declared the tough judge of the bunch. The next guy called himself Michael Phelps. He was in a speedo with sunglasses and a swim cap. He did a strange dance that was a combination between a swim and a dance. He had a nicely toned physique, but nothing to write home about. The judges seemed a bit unsure of the swim/dance combo and Sandy awarded him a seven, Shelia a six, and Mindy a four.  
Sam heard his name called. He was wearing his blue board short swim trunks with large white Hawaiian style flowers and a white tank top that went by the unfortunate name of wife beater. The colors set off his eyes and showed his muscular tanned biceps. "Let's welcome Sam from Kingsland, Georgia." Rose introduced. After the introduction, he heard the music for the Pitbull song, I Know You Want Me. Sam was relieved for the upbeat dance song; while at Stanford University Jess had loved to hit the clubs and dance the night away. He learned how to dance because he was a bit possessive and didn't want other guys dancing with his Jess.  
Sam started his dance by ripping his tank top in half and tossing it to Shelia who screamed in delight. Going over to Sandy he straddled her chair coming in backwards. He dropped it like it was hot right in Sandy's lap. He gave her a nice series of booty popping moves. Sandy really got into it giving his butt a nice smack with her judging paddle, causing the crowd to cheer loudly.  
Next up was Shelia. Sam straddled her chair, facing her and looking her directly in the eyes. He gave a little twist of his hips and a full body roll. Shelia was smiling and watching his hips.  
Finally for Mindy he again straddled her chair, performing a series of pushups to bring his firmly-toned, bare chest into her face. She controlled the very strong urge to lick that bead of sweat sliding in between his pecs. The song luckily ended before Mindy's self-control did and Sam went unlicked. Dean was shocked seeing his baby brother's moves. He had no clue Sam could dance and was a bit nervous he would be outdone by his baby brother. No way could Dean lose sexiest man to Sammy! The judges presented their scores. Both Sandy and Shelia gave him perfect tens, but Mindy remained a tough judge giving him a nine.  
Rose called up Dean. "Next comes Sam's brother, Dean, also from Georgia." She glanced over and noticed Dean's robe. "Okay Sweetheart time to lose the robe." Dean was untying his robe as the music started. He was happy to hear Sergio Mendes Brazilian Samba song Magalenha. While on a hunt in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, Dean had a torrid affair with a Samba queen, and she had showed him her best moves. The beat of Magalenha started slowly, allowing Dean to remove his robe with an elaborate hip roll. The robe fell away to reveal the swimsuit Sam had purchased at Wal-mart. Sam was correct. The suit wasn't quite a Speedo, but it was damn close. Unlike a traditional Speedo, this white suit had squared off legs, giving it more of the appearance of teeny tiny shorts. There was a teal strip running down the left side of the swimsuit. The suit fit like a glove, and the white color really showed off his golden skin.

Once the robe dropped to the ground and the crowd caught sight of that delightfully small suit, shrill screams erupted from the women throughout the pool area. All three judges tossed their sunglasses away to get a better view of Dean's suit and moves. At that moment the drums kicked in on Magalenha and the music picked up speed. Dean did a perfect a series of quick samba steps rolling his hips with each move as he walked towards Sandy. He followed Sam's lead by straddling Sandy but forwards instead of backwards and doing a pelvis thrust, his chest popping to the beat of the drums.  
Next, he moved on to Shelia's chair, straddling it and doing a series quick hips rolls while lowering his hips right onto her lap. As he moved away, Shelia used the judging paddle to fan herself. Last, he headed to Mindy; he wrapped his feet around the back of her chair so his legs were on either side of her upper body and proceeded to do ten sit-ups, just his muscular legs holding him off her in mid-air. There was a thunderous round of applause as well as wolf whistles when music ended, and Dean gracefully moved off of Mindy's lap. Mindy's cheeks were flushed bright red. She watched Dean walk away in what was to her mind the best swimsuit she had ever seen on any man. She hated to see him go, but the view was so awesome she decided it was alright.  
Rose was momentarily stunned into silence. In all the time she had been the emcee for this contest she had never seem a man move that well. Dean came to stand next to her, and suddenly she realized she should be asking for judge's scores.  
"Bartender I need some water. Those are some seriously hot moves. Where did you learn that?"  
Sam was wondering the same thing. Dean gave Rose a smile and a wink. "A lady friend in New Orleans."  
Sam mumbled "figures" under his breath.  
Sandy, Shelia and Mindy handed up three tens at the same time. "It looks like Dean is the winner." The crowd erupted again into shrill screams and wolf whistles, and Dean received his medal and a bottle of champagne. He hastily put his robe back on much to the disappointment of the judges and Rose.  
Sam went up to Dean. "Dude where the hell did you learn to dance like that?"  
"Her name was Gabriela. I met her during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. She was a Brazilian Samba queen, and the way she could move her hips…wow!" Dean explained with a faraway look in his eyes, recalling something Sam really didn't need details on.  
"Ew Dean, TMI. Moving on. Now is your chance to talk to Rose. Here she comes," Sam said, looking away from Dean and over to Rose.  
"Nice job boys. I was worried about the event when poor Josh got stage fright," Rose said in a low voice so Josh wouldn't over hear. "But you two—wow! Dancing must be a genetic thing. Is your dad a great dancer too?"  
Sam wasn't sure whether to flinch or laugh at the image of John Winchester busting a move. Dean was still so sensitive about Dad; Sam was worried how he would react. Before he could comment, Dean chimed in. "Definitely not from Dad. In fact I got no clue where Sam learned his dances moves. Do share Sammy," Dean said with a smile.  
Sam did flinch this time and simply stated, "Jess." Dean's eyes were sympathetic as he watched his brother walk away.  
"Jess was his girlfriend. She died," Dean explained to Rose who cringed at her insensitive question.  
Sam's path was blocked by Shelia coming way into his personal space.  
"So Sam, those were some nice moves. You and your brother should meet us up at Boleros," Shelia cooed near his ear. Sam wanted to be polite and didn't really know the best way to move away from Shelia.  
"I'll have to check with Dean," Sam hedged in an evasive voice.  
"I really like those shorts on you, but you were right to rip off that shirt. Such a waste to hide that great chest behind clothes," Shelia said, running her hand lightly over his chest. Sam jumped back a bit surprised at how forward Shelia was being. He was trying to figure out his next move when Sandy came over and rescued him.  
"Hey, Sam great moves! I can claim I have two of the world's sexiest men at my dinner table," she said with a smile, stepping into Shelia's space with a mamma bear look that said 'back the fuck off, skank.' Sam was impressed. Sandy gave Shelia one steady challenging look, letting her eyes wander down to where Shelia's hand was on Sam chest. That look actually made Sam want to back off; Sandy could be a scary lady when she needed to be. Shelia knew when to beat a hasty retreat. She removed her hand from Sam's chest.  
"I hope to see you and Dean at Boleros tonight," Shelia said as she wandered off with a disappointed Mindy. She had tried and failed to get a moment alone with Dean who was still engrossed in conversation with Rose.  
"I hope that was okay. It didn't seem like you wanted her advances," Sandy said with a smile.  
"Thank you. I wasn't quite sure how to get her to leave me alone," Sam said gratefully. "I think me grinding on her lap might have given the wrong impression," Sam said with a blush to his cheeks.  
"Hey, I'm happily married with two kids, and I was pleased as punch to have your ass grinding in my face," Sandy couldn't resist saying just to see how red his face could get. As predicted he turned a dark shade of crimson.  
"Sorry about that," Sam stuttered out in a self-conscious voice.  
"Oh please, don't apologize. I enjoyed it. I'm hoping someone got a video for Youtube so I can show my other married friends. We old broads enjoy a vicarious thrill," Sandy said with a cheeky grin.  
"Oh please God no," Sam said to the sky, his face etched in horror at the thought.  
Sandy laughed. "Well I have to get going. June's expecting me for Bingo."  
"See you at dinner." Sam smiled. He really liked Sandy and was glad to have a tablemate like her.  
He went over to Dean who was chatting up Rose. "Hey Sam, Rose was just telling me about England. Didn't you do a college paper on Canewdon, England for your myths and legends class?"  
Sam followed Dean's lead. "Actually my paper was on witches and Canewdon, England was a part of it. Andro at the gym told us your name was Rose Pye. My research said that Rose Pye was the first witch arrested in Canewdon."  
Rose smiled, "That was my great great great aunt. There is a tradition in my family that the first born girl will have the name Rose Pye. Pye is really my middle name. Canewdon gets crazy on Halloween with the people trying to sneak in and see us witches in action. It's silly really. However, I did see a ghost once."  
Sam gave Rose the enthralled stare. "You saw a ghost? I would love to hear the story."  
"It was late at night on Halloween. I was sixteen at the time. My friends dared me to walk around St. Nicholas Church seven times. In Canewdon that is similar to saying Bloody Mary in front of a mirror. After the seventh time you are supposed to see a ghost witch. My hands were shaking after the seventh time. All of the sudden the air got cold, and I could see my breath. I felt a chill down my spine. That's when I saw her. She was dressed in grey and floated down from the church's west gate towards the river. It scared the heck out of me and my friends. We took off running for home," she said with a self-mocking laugh. "So that's my big Canewdon ghost story."  
"Does anyone in your family practice witchcraft?" Dean asked bluntly.  
"Well we have a crazy grandmother who claims to know protection spells." Rose laughed and glanced at her watch. "As much as I'm enjoying talking to you both I have to head off. I'm hosting bingo in twenty minutes. I need to get set up."  
"Of course. I hope we didn't delay you with our questions," Sam said.  
"No, I miss my home and I enjoy talking about it. Most people have never heard of Canewdon. Everyone here loves teasing me about it, calling me Glenda the good witch," she said with a laugh as she started to head off to bingo. Suddenly she stopped and came back over to the boys. "Are you the Sam and Dean who helped calm down my friend Althea after the incident with Mr. Castillo?"  
"Guilty as charged. How is she doing?" Sam asked.  
"She was really shaken up about what happened to him. I really appreciate you guys helping her out."  
"You were on the previous cruise with Mr. Castillo? Was he…huh…how do I put this?" Sam struggled to find the polite words but was interrupted by Dean's bluntness.  
"I think what Sam is trying to ask is; was Mr. Castillo always such a massive bag of dicks?" Dean asked.  
Rose couldn't help the smile that graced her ruby lips; she liked people who were straight forward. "Mr. Castillo was very difficult on the last cruise," she said diplomatically. She gestured for Sam and Dean to come closer. "Please don't repeat this; passengers aren't normally invited. But since tomorrow is our first port day, the crew has a party planned tonight that starts about Midnight. Do you know where the ice rink is?"  
"You're having a party on an ice rink? We're so in. Where is it?" Dean asked in an excited voice.  
"They haven't started the ice shows, so right now the ice is covered. That's another reason the party's tonight. Anyway, it's on Deck 2 at Midnight. If anyone questions you just tell 'em Glenda sent you. I hope to see you blokes tonight," she said, waving them goodbye as she headed to bingo.  
"Come on Sammy, I so want to put on some clothes. I feel naked. This thing keeps riding up my ass. I can't believe you bought me a freakin' Speedo?"  
"I already told you it's not a Speedo," Sam said barely keeping the laughter out of his voice.  
"Whatever dude. You owe me. We're going to that party tonight," Dean said preparing for an argument.  
"I agree. It'll give us time to question Rose and the other crew further. Did you see the necklace Rose was wearing?" Sam asked.  
"No. Was there something special about it?" Dean asked.  
"It was a gold, almond-shaped evil eye with some type of pink crystal making the eye in the center." Sam explained.  
"Okay, she's looking more and more like our witch. Still, she seems so nice," Dean said.  
"Yeah, it's hard to picture her hexing people. But still, you never know about people. Let's head to the cabin and change. Then we should order our tuxedos for tonight and I want to head to the internet café on deck eight. See if I can research hexes for scurvy or whipping. I want to find out how the she's hexing people," Sam explained.  
"I guess I can try to talk to different crew members about Mr. Castillo and the first victim. What's his name again?" Dean asked, getting back into the hunt as they walked up the stairs to their cabin.  
"Leon Menendez, people should remember him. How many cruisers die of scurvy?" Sam answered.  
Dean felt a huge sense of relief as he entered the cabin's bathroom and could change out of the uncomfortable creeping Speedo—so sorry—"boy shorts". So nice to be in big boy pants again he thought with a sigh as the put on the cargo shorts, grey t-shirt and Birkenstock sandals. He would have revenge on Sam; he was just biding his time. Sam knew it, and the wait for Dean's retaliatory attack was all a part of his plan. He would have Sam on edge waiting. Once Dean changed and exited the bathroom, he gave Sam a considering look, smirking when saw Sam tense up. Let the games begin! Dean thought with a grin.  
They got fitted for their tuxedo rentals. Both Sam and Dean got black, two button Perry Ellis tuxedos. However, Sam's vest and full length tie were a dark red, while Dean's tie and vest were silver. Luckily the ship stocked pants that were long enough to fit Sam's legs. He had been worried about that.  
After the sizing, Sam headed to the internet café while Dean hit the shops on deck five in search of swim trunks that covered quite a bit more than the boy shorts/Speedo. Sam and Dean had agreed to meet back at the room at 5PM to dress for dinner.  
After searching the shops, Dean finally found a pair of swim trunks he could wear in public. He headed back to the pool area, ordering a beer and chatting with the bartender. After his second beer and no relevant information, Dean headed up to deck twelve. He noticed a couple with their heads close together taking pictures.  
He thought how sweet it was with the husband suggesting shots for his wife to take—that is, until he heard the husband speak. "Yeah, the chick in the purple thong bikini, she's got a great ass! Get her picture. God, I love the zoom on that camera"  
The wife smiled saying "Oh yeah I got some great video of that hot guy dancing in that white speedo during the World's Sexiest Man contest; that's definitely going on YouTube," the wife said in delight.  
The husband couldn't help correcting his wife. "I don't think that was a Speedo. It looked more like shorts." Dean quickly took off before they saw him, horrified by the idea of the YouTube video.  
Dean went up to deck thirteen to check out the rock climbing wall when he heard the thunder. He looked up at the clear sky in surprise. He was watching a man reach the top of the rock climbing wall. He saw a strange ball of blue fire over the man's head. It shocked him; the man's head looked to be on fire, but he wasn't burning. "St. Elmo's fire," he heard an amazed voice say next to him. He turned and saw Waldo's shocked expression.  
"I never thought I would see it in person," Waldo said, watching the man with the blue fire over his head.  
"What's St. Elmo's fire?" Dean asked.  
"St. Elmo's fire is a mixture of gas and plasma. The electric field around the object in question causes ionization of the air molecules, producing a faint glow easily visible in low-light conditions. Approximately 1000 volts per centimeter induces St. Elmo's fire; however, this number is greatly dependent on the geometry of the object in question. Sharp points tend to require lower voltage levels to produce the same result because electric fields are more concentrated in areas of high curvature, thus discharges are more intense at the ends of pointed objects," Waldo explained, making Dean sorry he asked.  
Waldo noticed the blank look on Dean's face and restated in simpler terms. "The nitrogen and oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere causes St. Elmo's fire to fluoresce with blue. It gives the visual effect of fire, but it's not really fire. It was a superstition that when St. Elmo's fire appeared over a sailor's head that sailor will die within a day."  
After Waldo finished his statement they heard a loud snap at the rock climbing wall. The man no longer had the St. Elmo's fire over his head. He had fallen off the wall. The cord holding him up had somehow wrapped around his neck and he dangled hanging lifeless from the rock wall. The loud snap Waldo and Dean had heard was his neck breaking.


	5. First formal night of the cruise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys continue the hunt for what's killing people on the cruise. But a guy's still got to eat. It's formal night on the ship time to put on their tuxedos and enjoy dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who added a kudos or comment I really appreciate it.

Sam was sitting frustrated in the internet café, apparently internet connection at sea wasn’t great. Every time he would find something interesting the connection would drop out. As he was loading the same page for the fifth time he heard over the PA system. “Medical crew members Alpha, Alpha, Alpha proceed to deck thirteen rock climbing wall.” The word ‘medical’ caught Sam’s attention as the webpage finally loaded. He quickly shut off the computer and completely bypassing the crowded elevators headed up the stairs to the rock climbing wall. Sam was flooded with relief when he saw Dean standing with Waldo. Staring up at the rock climbing wall he caught the shocking and horrific sight of a man’s lifeless body being pulled from the wall. It was amazing how swiftly the crew members removed and covered the body. 

Sam approached Dean. “What happened?”

“That dude had an Elmo thingy on his head, then boom he was hanging off the wall.” Dean half explained.

“He had St. Elmo’s fire around his head before he died?” Sam questioned, surprising Waldo that Sam could understand Dean’s short hand explanation.

“That’s correct; I was surprised to see it in person. I was explaining to Dean what it was when we heard that man’s neck snap.” Waldo said clearly shaken up. “I will never forget that sound, some things you can’t un hear.” Waldo continued getting paler as he spoke.

Sam guided Waldo to a chair, “Dean will get you some water. Just try and breathe.” Sam said glancing at Dean who nodded and head to the bar for a bottle of water.

Dean quickly returned handing the bottle of water to Waldo whose hands were shaking. Dean was envious of the shaking hands. Waldo was lucky, this was the first time he had heard the sound of snapping bones. Dean had been desensitized to the sight and sounds associated with death. During his time in hell the sound of snapping bones was common place. That sound riddled him with guilt; remembering causing others the pain and suffering that accompanied the sound. Dean pushed these thoughts down and retuned into Waldo and Sam’s discussion feeling the need to stop whatever this was and in some way make up for his torture master past. 

Something about Sam knowing St. Elmo’s fire was eating a Waldo. “You have heard of St. Elmo’s fire? Do you know the superstitions regarding it?”

Sam nodded and said “Some sailors believe if St. Elmo’s fire is on your face or around your head you will die in 24 hours. Other sailors believed the St. Elmo’s fire was a warning from heaven of an impending storm.” Sam finished.

“That’s exactly right Sam. I’m obsessed with the sea, it drives my wife crazy. I haven’t ever met anyone who knew of St. Elmo’s fire as anything, but a crappy movie from the 1980s. How do you know this?” Waldo asked.

“My brother is a walking encyclopedia of the strange. He had lots of interesting facts rolling around in the cro-magnum skull.” Dean teased his brother with a smile. 

“Do you think it’s true?” Waldo questioned Sam. 

“Do I think what’s true?” Sam asked confused.

“Did the St. Elmo’s fire predict or cause that man’s death?” Waldo asked. “The way he died, it’s not natural. How did that rope, hooked onto a harness around his waist, suddenly warp around his neck?” Waldo asked in an insistent voice. Sam didn’t know how to answer when suddenly Waldo’s wife Trudy appeared.

“Oh thank God you’re okay. I heard the triple Alpha called over the PA, along with deck thirteen and I remember you saying that was a medical code.” She said as she gentle stroked his cheek. “I was worried you had been hurt on the damn wall.” She said with tenderness in her eyes. 

Waldo instantly calmed down under his wife’s loving touch. “I never got the courage to sign up.” Waldo explained with a rueful smile. “I was watching the wall when Dean showed up and we saw the St. Elmo’s fire appear over the man’s head. I was explaining it when we heard the sound of his his neck as it snapped.” Waldo stuttered out at the end overwhelmed by the retelling. Trudy took him into a hug kissing his neck softly and whispering soothing words into this ear. Sam and Dean felt uncomfortable with the intimate moment. They nodded to Trudy that they were leaving. Trudy nodded back and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ as they left.

The boys made their way silently down the stairs headed back to the cabin. Both lost in their own thoughts. Sam broke the silence has they entered the cabin. “Too many people will be around the rock climbing aall right now. Later tonight we should head back to investigate. Were you able to find out anything from the staff?”

“Nope, everyone loves Rose. She is a sweetheart and goes out of her way to help people. I know she’s from witch town, but I’m not sure it’s her. Other crew members have been on different ships with her and no other mysterious deaths were reported on those ships. So why start killing now?” Dean asked running his hand over his face and rubbing his eyes in his frustration. “Did you find anything on the internet?” Dean asked in a hopeful voice.

“The connection kept going down. I could barely get a webpage loaded. We need to look at the victims closer. Why are those men being targeted?” Sam suggested trying not to let his frustration show. “But first we need to dress for dinner.”

Dean whined as he looked as his tuxedo, “Do we have to? That monkey suit is so itchy.”

Sam rolled his eyes at Dean’s whining. Then bitch faced when he heard Dean’s mumbled voice saying “17.”

“Stop counting.” Sam lashed out.

“Then stop rolling your damn eyes at me.” Dean snapped back. Before Sam could reply Dean entered the bathroom slamming the door.

Sam rubbed a weary hand through his hair as he changed into this tuxedo. He was fighting with the tie when Dean reemerged from the bathroom. Without a word he smacked Sam’s hands away and did up his tie. 

“Thanks.” Sam said sitting on the bed to put on his shoes and socks.

Dean gave an acknowledgement with his head as he started changing his clothes. After finishing with his shoes Sam sat at the window overlooking the promenade area to wait. He found it soothing to watch the people walking around dressed to the nines for formal night. As he watched, a couple with two young sons, looking to be about five and nine years old, walked out of the cupcake store. The five year old son dropped his cupcake and started to cry; causing the older boy to give him a hug calming him down. Once the boy stopped crying his older brother split his own cupcake in half to share. The parents took the children by their hands and led them out of view.   
The next thing that caught Sam’s attention was a beautiful woman with soft blonde waves of hair cascading down her back. Her dress was a soft periwinkle blue; the skirt gracefully flowing down to the floor. The top of the dress was sequined silver with peek-a-boo sides showing perfectly golden skin. The top was cut low enough to provide Sam an excellent view and still be elegant. The mystery woman was alone as she walked slowly down the promenade area window shopping. “Wow” Sam breathed at the sight.   
That instantly caught Dean’s attention, “What?” he asked now dressed working on his own tie.  
“She’s gorgeous. That dress is like, wow.” Sam said. Suddenly he heard a loud bang and turned towards the noise. Dean stood rubbing his forehead and there was a Dean’s sized forehead print on the window where it made contact in his haste to see the mystery woman. Sam started laughing at his brother.   
“Not funny Sam, that hurts.” Dean said in his whining three year old voice again.   
“I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing with you; it’s not my fault you aren’t laughing.” Sam said his dimples on full display as he continued his laughter.  
“There probably isn’t even a hot chick down there,” Dean grumbled.  
Sam glanced back down as the mystery lady wandered out of view. “You just missed her.” Sam said with a grin in his voice.   
Sam moved away from the window and decided to put on the television for some background noise while Dean finished getting ready. He was surprised to see Royal Caribbean had their own channel and were airing the different events around the ship. He gave it no further thought until he heard Rose’s voice announcing the “World’s sexiest man contest.”

“Oh my god! No way.” Sam said in a horrified voice. 

“What’s a matter Sammy?” Dean asked. Sam was speechless and just pointed at the screen. Just then he sees himself introduced and starting his dance. Dean stared at the screen in horror, watching his baby brother grind against Sheila. He looked over and Sam was hyperventilating and his face was bright red. “Calm down Sam it’s not that bad.” Dean tried to reassure his brother until he saw himself come out in his robe.

“Son of a bitch! Can everyone see this?” Dean questioned knowing the answer but hoping for something different. 

“No, Dean I’m sure it’s only on our T.V. not to worry. Yes! Of course it is!” Sam screamed at his brother.

“Alright, alright, chill out Sammy.” Sam just nodded his head, eyes still wide in horror. T.V. Dean drops his robe and real Dean was nauseous at this sight.   
“Let’s hurry, they’re having two for one margaritas at the On Air Lounge and I need a drink or three.” Dean said in disgust turning the T.V. off, just as the three judges tossed away their sunglasses.  
“Since when do you drink Margaritas?” Sam asked in surprise.  
“Since they’re buy one get one free. The drink prices on the boat are outrageous!” Dean complained.   
“It’s a ship, not a boat.” Sam replied as he watched Dean putting on his shoes.  
“Whatever. Lets motor.” Dean asked.   
They made the trek to deck three entering the On Air Lounge. This is where the karaoke was held nightly. Dean had decided Sam needed to loosen up so when he ordered the drinks he tipped the bartender extra to make Sam’s drink nice and strong. Sam, being the light weight he was, felt no pain after the second tall drink. They took the third drink to go as they wandered up the stairs for the dining room on deck four. Sam missed the stairs a couple of times. Dean’s hand was there to steady his brother. On the final step he tripped spilling a bit of his drink loudly calling out “alcohol abuse” with a goofy grin on this face.   
Sheila appeared out of nowhere looking stunning. Dean was shocked her skin was a beautiful golden brown and that dress was wow! Although he would never admit it to Sam, Dean recognized the color as periwinkle. Sheila’s normally over done hair was flowing down her back in soft waves.   
“Mystery woman! I found you! You look gorgeous.” Sam said with a dimpled smile.   
Sheila slid up, happy to see Sam in a relaxed and intoxicated mood. “Sweetie I’m not a mystery, I’ve been here all the time.” Finally it got through Sam’s drunken brain that this was Sheila.   
“Sheila, you’re not orange anymore. What happened? Not that I’m complaining this is a much nicer skin color.” Sam said bluntly, Dean just shook his head at Sam’s outburst.   
“Bad spray on tan but the spa was able to fix it. They did my hair and makeup also.” Sheila said trying not to show her annoyance at her former orange skin.   
Mindy made her way over to stand by Dean off to the side out of earshot of Sheila and Sam. “Is Sam drunk?” Mindy asked surprised.   
“Three sheets to the wind.” Dean said with a laugh.   
“You better watch out, that makes him easy prey for Sheila. I don’t suppose you’re drunk.” Mindy said.   
“Sober as a judge.” Dean replied.  
“Just my luck!” Mindy intoned with mock sadness that made Dean laugh.   
Dean looked over to see Sam was leaning into Sheila petting her hair and swaying back and forth. Sheila loved every minute of it, but Dean was afraid his little brother was about to collapse on Sheila. Just then the doors to the dining room opened.   
Dean walked over, “come on Sasquatch, time for dinner.”  
“I want to stay with mystery woman. Her hair is so soft.” Sam slurred.  
“I’m not having this Steinbeck moment with you ‘Lenny.’ Let go of the hair and march your ass into the dining room.” Dean said channeling John Winchester. Sam obeyed instantly, if not a bit reluctantly, following Dean to their table. Sam looked back, waving good bye to Sheila, who smiled and blew him a kiss, which he grabbed out of the air while Dean rolled his eyes and Mindy laughed.   
The delay from Sheila and Mindy meant that Sam and Dean were the last people to arrive at the table. Their tablemates greeted them with a round of applause and wolf whistles from Sandy and Kayla. “Welcome back world’s sexiest men.” Sandy greeted with a smile. Sam took a drunkenly bow that almost had him face planting. Luckily Dean caught him and guided him to his chair.   
“My apologies, Sam has been in his cups.” Dean addressed the table.  
“Two for one Margaritas.” Sam saluted the table holding up his half empty glass.   
“Okay Sammy maybe you shouldn’t finish that one.” Dean said attempting to get the glass out of his intoxicated brother’s hand.  
“I love you man. You’re the bestest brother ever. Like Batman only with a cooler car.” Sam said not noticing his glass was replaced with a menu.   
“Did ya’ll hear about the death at the rock climbing wall?” Kayla asked the group.  
Waldo gulped at the memory and replied, “Dean and I saw it happen.” Trudy placed a reassuring hand on his arm.  
“You did! What happened?” Kayla asked interested to have a firsthand account.   
“The rope got twisted around his neck and when he fell off the wall it snapped his neck.” Waldo said starting to look pale again at the memory.   
Under the table Trudy took one of his shaking hands in hers and addressed the group, “Could we change the subject? This really upsets Waldo.”  
Kayla nodded her head and the group fell silent.   
Sam was gazing intently at the menu. Dean took Sam’s menu and flipped it around so it was no longer upside down. Sammy broke the silence when he said “oopsies. That is much easier to read. Hey June, do you know who sings this song?”  
“The Doors,” June replied with a smile.  
“That’s right hey, Dean, June really knows her music. June did you see my brother on T.V.?”   
“Yes I did, I loved his swimsuit.” June said with a wink to Dean.  
“I did too.” Kayla quickly replied.  
“Then why won’t you let me wear mine, honey. I have a navy blue speedo I’ve wanted to wear, but she won’t let me.” Austin chimed in.  
“It’s not a speedo. They’re boy shorts.” Sam corrected with an evil grin.  
“Okay new subject, please.” Dean requested in a pained voice.  
The salad came out and Sam started playing with the mesclun lettuce on his plate.  
“Why did they put weeds on my plate Dean? I don’t remember ordering weeds; was it on the menu?” Sam questioned pulling the offending lettuce to the side of his plate.  
Trudy and Waldo couldn’t hold back their laughter at Sam’s comments.  
“No, Sammy that’s not weeds. It’s lettuce. You should eat it.” Dean stated calmly.  
“Dude, you wouldn’t know lettuce if it dressed up like a hot chick and danced a Samba.” Sam picked up a leaf of lettuce and started it dancing around, just as Nelda came by to check on the table. She couldn’t help the large smile watching drunken Sam.   
“How is everything?” Nelda asked the table.   
“I have too much silverware. Its super confusing! I just need like one fork and I’m good. Seriously now many dishes do you guys have to wash? I’m surprised the ship can stay afloat with this much silverware weighting it down.” Sam said and gathering up his silverware for Nelda. Dean stopped him from turning in all the silverware.   
“Everything is really great.” Dean replied for the table.   
“Tell her about the weeds.” Sam said is a loud whisper. Dean rubbed his face. Finally the courses were served and dinner was finished. As they walked out Sam noticed a station set up for formal night pictures.   
“Oh! Oh! Dean, let’s get our pictures took.” Sam exclaimed.   
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Dean said trying to guide Sam away from the photo set up.  
“No! When was the last time we had our picture taken? Plus you look like James Bond in your tux. Come on 007 give ‘em the blue steel.” Dean couldn’t help the smile that graced his lips.   
“Okay, one blue steel.” Dean replied.  
The boys posed against the blue background with the photographer guiding them into different poses. Some ladies stopped and whispered among themselves recognizing Sam and Dean from television.   
“Work it Sexy Boys.” One of the ladies cheered them on as they mugged for the camera. The photographer was smiling and laughing.   
“Okay boys now stand back to back and turn your heads towards the camera.” The photographer guided the boys.  
“Oh! Charlie’s Angels pose.” Sam shouted instantly, they both hit a karate pose like the opening scene of the old television show. The crowd of ladies increased, encouraging them through the different poses. Dean was enjoying the attention and just having fun with his brother.   
After they finished with the poses Sam was pulling at his collar. “It’s too hot in here,” he complained heading for the door leading outside. It was a beautiful clear night and the tropical breeze cooled Sam off and left him feeling tired.   
“I need to sit down.” Sam said collapsing into one of the deck chairs. Dean checked his watch and realized now would be a good time to check the rock climbing wall. He looked at his brother’s closed eyes.   
“Sammy will you be alright out here alone?”   
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just need to close my eyes for a sec.” Sam replied.  
“You won’t move from that chair?” When he got no reply Dean repeated loudly. “Sammy, promise me you won’t move from that chair.”  
“Yeah, Dean I won’t move from the chair.” Sam said in a sleepy voice.   
Dean left him on deck four speeding to the cabin to change his clothes. He arrived at the rock climbing wall with the EMF meter on. It didn’t buzz until he got close to the wall and it started buzzing loudly. Dean ducked his body under the ropes closing off access to the wall. He checked the harness and rigging, but they all seemed normal. Checking around the wall he found no hex bags.  
Knowing the man had died at the top and realizing he would have to scale the wall. Dean swore. “Damn it.” He pulled off his boots to get a better foot hold on the way up. He followed the center path the dead man had followed. Seeing no hex bags or any other signs of witchcraft. He reached the very top breathing heavily. There was a ledge at the top of the wall he lifted himself over the ledge and searched that area for hex bags still with no luck.  
Dean got a bit of vertigo looking down. Seeing how far up the wall he was he wished he had put on the safety gear. He forced himself to take the climb down one rung at a time and not look down. About halfway down his sock slipped off the foothold and he was hanging on the wall by only his hands. He put his foot back on the foothold, but something on the foothold snagged his sock and pulled it halfway off as his foot once again slipped off. His arms were screaming in pain from holding his full body weight while trying to release his sock. Finally after another try he was able to get a foothold. He dropped to the ground almost kissing it in relief. He slipped his sock back on and went down to deck four where he found Sam still in his rumpled tuxedo soundly sleeping.


	6. Crew party time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean are at an stand still in the investigation maybe the crew can enlighten them. Time to party with the crew and hopefully discover a lead.

Dean shook Sam roughly awake. Sam grabbed his head moaning softly. “Leave me alone Dean. I’m sleeping.”  
Dean’s smile was wicked as he said, “No Sheila I don’t know where your bra is. Sammy do you know where Sheila’s bra is?”  
Sam jerked awake falling off the deck chair and looking around for Sheila. “Not funny Dean.” Sam snapped at his smirking brother.  
“Come on Sam, you need to change, sober up, and drink some coffee before the party tonight.”   
“So you want me to sober up to attend a party? How does that make sense?” Sam deadpanned.  
“Just so you know, I was scaling a rock climbing wall alone and almost fell to my death while you took a little nappy poo. I discovered nothing, no hex bags, or other signs of witchcraft. We need to know why those men are being targeted. So Sammy, who would be the best people to interview regarding the former passengers?” Dean questioned.  
“The crew of the ship.” Sam said straightening his wrinkled tuxedo and following Dean to the door.   
“Give the man a prize.” Dean said, sarcasm lacing his words. “Why don’t I head to the café and get us some coffee while you change. Meet me on Deck five. I’ll have your half-café, double-vanilla latte waiting.” Dean said with a grin.  
Sam started heading towards the elevators when he caught sight of Sheila in Boleros. He ducked trying to hide his 6 foot 4 inch frame behind a pole. She was drinking with Mindy and looking around. That’s when Sam remembered her offer to meet her at Boleros, the Latin dance club on board. Sam ditched the elevator, worked his way carefully to the stairs to avoid Sheila’s sight, leaving behind a laughing Dean.   
Dean hit the elevator button, when he recognized the song “Mas Que Nada” being played by the live band in Boleros. He was swaying his hips to the music waiting for the elevator, when Mindy spotted him. She grabbed his hand pulling him from the elevator for a dance. “No really I need to go, I’m meeting Sam.” Dean protested as Mindy continued pulling him to the dance floor.  
“One dance and I’ll let you go. I can see you want to and I’m a much better partner than the elevator doors.” Mindy persuaded moving her hips and shoulders to the beat.   
Dean gave in and started leading her through a complex set of Samba steps that she was easily able to keep up with. “You’re really good.” Dean complimented her.   
She smiled, “Dancing is a fun way to get all sweaty and stay in shape,” her green eyes twinkling. Dean pulled her back to the front of his body as he guided her through a series of Samba rolls that left her breathless.   
“I can think of lots of fun ways to get sweaty.” He whispered in her ear as the song was ending. “Sadly, right now I need to meet my brother. Thank you for the dance.” He said gallantly kissing her hand as he walked away leaving a disappointed, panting Mindy behind.  
Dean gave up on the elevators and headed up the stairs to the café on Deck five. It was 11:15 PM and there wasn’t much call for coffee so the line was short. Dean was surprised to see Althea behind the counter smiling at him in recognition. “Hi Dean how is you enjoying da cruise.” She said in her thick Jamaican accent.  
“It’s amazing. Everyone is so nice and the food is great.” Seeing no one behind him in line, Dean leaned in and said in a quiet voice. “But I was at the rock climbing wall when that man died. It was such a shock.”   
Althea nodded her head in sympathy, “poor Mr. Ramos, I don’t know how dat rope got around his neck.” She looked around to make certain no one was listening. “He is being made to leave da ship tomorrow. Tis gal was drugged. Cameras caught him putting someting in her drink. Security found dat gal passed out in the hall. Was date rape drug in her system. He is going to hurt her, but she left while he was in da bathroom. Dat gal is lucky she get away.”   
Dean whistled in surprise, “She was very lucky. It seems Mr. Ramos got what was coming to him.”  
Althea agreed, “It is his karma coming back on him. You bring evil in da world evil is what come back on you. What can I get you to drink?”   
“Coffee black and a half-café, double-vanilla latte.” Dean answered then stopped and reconsidered with an evil smile. “Change that half-café, double-vanilla latte. To double-vanilla latte with three espresso shots.”   
“One dead eye double-vanilla latte coming up. Here is your cup for dat regular coffee. Da French roast is very good.” Althea quickly prepared Sam’s special brew while Dean was getting his coffee.  
“I hear Rose invited you boys to da party tonight. Is you coming? Crew parties is da best” Althea asked when Dean returned from filling his cup.  
“I wouldn’t miss it,” he replied just as Sam was approaching the café.   
“Hello Althea.” Sam greeted taking his cup from her.   
“Good to see you Sam. Is you coming with your brother to da party tonight?” Althea questioned.  
“I’ll be there. Are you going to be off in time to make it?” Sam asked.   
Althea nodded, “I only have ten minutes left on dis shift. I wouldn’t miss it. Dat party is a blast. The DJ is excellent and free drinks. I love the margaritas.”   
Sam groaned at the thought of more margaritas while Dean smirked at his distress. “We should let you finish up then. We’ll see you at the party.” Sam said smiling as he and Dean headed to a table towards the back of the mostly empty café.   
Sam took a sip of his coffee and looked at it confused by the taste. “You got a half café right Dean? I don’t want to be up all night. This tastes pretty strong.”  
Dean controlled his urge to laugh and instead replied, “Yes, Francis I made sure the coffee was ordered to your complex specifications. Can we talk about the case? Althea provided me with information about the latest victim.”   
“Of course, sorry it just tastes really strong.” When Dean’s rarely seen bitch face made an appearance, Sam decided it was best to drop the coffee talk and discuss the new information. He took another sip of his coffee wincing at the strong taste. “What did Althea tell you about the new victim?”  
“It seems Mr. Ramos was a very bad man. He was caught on tape slipping roofies into a woman’s drink. She left when he was in the bathroom and she was found by security passed out in the hallway. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, demons and monsters I get but people are crazy.” Dean explained.   
Sam nodded his head in agreement taking another sip of coffee thinking ‘huh, this is pretty damn good then took a deeper drink, enjoying the bitter sweetness of the coffee. “So our victims are all males. Mr. Castillo and Mr. Ramos were jerks. I wonder if our first victim Mr. Menendez was a jerk, too.” Sam asked.  
“We should ask the staff at tonight’s party about Mr. Menendez, because, besides dying of scurvy we don’t really know anything about him.” Dean explained.  
Sam whipped out his laptop, opening it up on the table. Dean noticed the slight shake to his hands as he quickly pecked at the keyboard. “Okay, I’m into Royal Caribbean’s customer database. Let’s see what’s up with the victims.” He said taking another deep drink of coffee.   
“That is really good stuff.” Sam said as he typed faster hacking deeper into Royal Caribbean’s customer profiles.   
“So Mr. Menendez was a Florida resident, 35 years old, married five years, late seating for dining, and no kids traveling with them. Ah. It was an anniversary cruise. That’s a shame, five years of marriage.” Sam’s leg was going a mile a minute as he drank the last sip of his coffee.  
Dean was amused watching Sam’s jittering hand gestures as he spoke. By this point even his face is twitching. “Internet search shows Menendez was known on cruise web sites by the user name ‘freebie man.’ Here’s a post where he’s giving tips on how to scam free stuff out of the cruise line. Wow, what a douche! He explains how to pick and choose complaints to get on board credit or things for free. One of his deals is eating at the specialty restaurant and bringing along a bit of old spatula to drop it into his food when he’s almost done eating then demanding a free meal.”  
“So all three victims were asshats. This could be why they were targeted.” Dean replied. “Dude it’s 12:05 let’s stow the laptop in the cabin and head to the party.”   
Sam’s head was nodding like a bobble head Elvis on crack. His hands were shaking and he was sweating like a whore in church. “Damn my heart is going a mile a minute. What that heck was in that coffee?” Sam exclaimed and that was it for Dean, his straight face forgotten. Dean cackles an evil laugh.  
“You just drank a double-vanilla latte dead eye dude.” Dean barely gets out through his laughing fit. “Want another?”  
Sam tries to pull a bitch face, but he can’t hold his face still long enough for it to work. “You’re a fucking jerk! Why did you do that?” This only makes Dean laugh harder.   
“I’m on T.V. dancing around in a Speedo.” He said between gulps of air. Sam feels like he could run a marathon in 10 minutes; no way is he waiting for an elevator. In fact, Dean has to run to catch up with Sam who is going up the stairs two at a time.   
They dropped the laptop off with Sammy chatting the whole way about nothing. He just can’t make himself shut up. The trip back down the stairs to the crew party helps take the shakes out of his hands. They arrive at the ice rink/Studio B, the rink is covered and stadium seating surrounds the main floor. A DJ is set up on stage playing dance music and everywhere young hotties are dancing with each other.   
Female friends dance with each other as their male admirers encourage the display. Most of the ladies come from countries where nudity is standard on their beaches. Some of the ladies by this point have expressed the opinion that the room was too hot and had removed their tops walking around in fancy lacey bras that both the boys appreciated. Sam spots Rose and elbows Dean in the ribs just a bit harder than necessary. Dean rubs his sore ribs and follows his brother to Rose.   
“You made it.” She greets with a smile and an affectionate hug for each of the boys.” She is clearly in her cups.   
Dean is ready to answer but is interrupted by Sam, who just can’t keep silent. “Althea told us how great these parties are and we just couldn’t pass it up.” Sam gives her a big smile that makes her knees weak.   
“Let me introduce you around.” Sam and Dean are handed drinks and for the next hour they’re introduced to other crew members. Rose is a great host and a ton of fun. She’s a bit of a gossip and knows all the ins and outs of the ship and its crew. Sam’s really hoping she isn’t a witch, because it would be a shame to waste her. It’s hard to be in the same room with her and not have a good time.   
She introduced them to Gavin, her assistant from Wales, “He’s the Welsh Tom Jones, but with a better ass.” She smirks and grabs his ass, to which he laughs clearly enjoying the attention.   
Gavin explains “Rose took the sexual harassment class to get pointers.”  
“You love it.” Rose smiles and it’s clear she’s right.   
A game of drunken truth or dare is being played in one corner of the ice rink. One of the male crew members is streaking naked through the crowd screaming at the top of his lungs. “I love Justin Bieber.”   
Amongst all the merriment there’s a sullen male crew member sitting by himself. Rose followed Dean’s gaze. “That’s Xavi Torres, he’s from Spain. He’s one of the cabin stewards and he is been stealing from the passenger’s cabins. He’s so arrogant and thought he would never get caught. Tonight’s his last night on the ship. When we reach port tomorrow he’ll being catching a plane back to Spain.” 

Suddenly the air gets so cold that Sam and Dean can see their breath. They hear a loud eerie voice saying “¿Dónde está mi hijo.” The voice is coming from right by Xavi’s left side and he jumps at the sudden voice that’s easily heard over the loud music. The boys recognize the sound of a whip and start running towards Xavi with Rose on their heels. “Me dices donde es,” the ghost says. Xavi screamed out in pain as the invisible whip hits his back. The air around him became solid as the ghost started to manifest. The ghost turned its head towards Rose’s evil eye pendant. He shrieked and disappeared. It was as if he had been hit by rock salt. Sam and Dean stood in shock.  
The music stopped and medical staff rushed to assist Xavi. Luckily he was only hit once so he wasn’t badly hurt. Rose stared shell shocked at the spot where the ghost briefly manifested. Sam pulled her into a quiet spot and Dean followed.  
“Rose, where did you get that necklace?” Sam asked in a careful voice. It’s clear to Sam and Dean that Rose’s necklace has warded off the ghost. They’ve never seen anything like it. Rose looked confused by the question. She was still stuck on the ghost thing.  
“That was a ghost, did you see the ghost?” Rose said answering Sam’s question with one of her own.  
“Yes, that was a ghost.” Sam confirmed, his eyes still on the necklace as he repeated his question.  
Rose replied, “Remember when I told you about my crazy grandmother? She gave it to me the day after I saw the witch ghost at St. Nicholas Church.” She said holding up a necklace with a large pink crystal.  
“What kind of stone is that?” Sam asked still looking at the necklace.  
“It’s not a stone. It’s a pink Himalayan salt crystal. She insisted I wear it. She said pink Himalayan salt is the purest salt on Earth and would protect me from evil. She’s nutty as a fruitcake, but she is also the most loving, gentle person I know.” Rose’s eyes filled with affection for her crazy relative.   
“What other ‘nutty’ things has your grandmother done?” Sam asked trying to confirm his suspicions.  
“She won’t go to bed until there is a line of salt around all her doors and windows. Under her front door mat she has this weird circular design. She made sure the rest of the family had the same thing under their door mats, too.” Rose explained. 

Dean and Sam exchanged a knowing look. Sam looked around to be sure they were still alone. “Your grandmother’s a hunter or knows about hunting.”  
“She doesn’t even own a gun. She’s eighty years old; she doesn’t go hunting.” Rose explained.  
Dean took over explaining, “She knows about the supernatural. Those precautions are to keep the house safe from ghosts. My brother and I are hunters. We stop ghosts. That story about Leon Menendez dying of scurvy is why we’re here. We need your help. Do you think you can get Xavi to wear your necklace tonight?” Dean had avoided talking about demons, he didn’t want to freak Rose out.  
She clutched her necklace protectively. “Why would I do that?”  
Sam gave her the puppy dog eyes and explained “Your necklace repelled the ghost. It will keep him safe until he leaves the ship.”   
Rose relented, nodding her head and walked over to Xavi. The boys could see a short discussion between Rose and Xavi; then he nodded his head and put the necklace around his neck.  
“Thank you for doing that.” Sam said.  
“Xavi has always been sweet on me so it was no problem getting him to wear it.” Rose replied.  
“We only saw the ghost briefly; why don’t you tell us what you saw.” Dean said.  
“He was dressed in a very old military uniform, maybe 1800s or older. He wore a blue jacket that had red lapels and gold lace on the border of the lapels. He had gold stripes on his sleeve. It looked like the stripes were his rank or something. I didn’t see any epaulettes on his shoulders so maybe I’m wrong.” Sam and Dean were impressed with the detail Rose provided. They had seen the same thing, but were baffled on how such an old ghost was on board this fairly new cruise ship.  
Rose went on, “He was speaking Spanish. It’s one of the five languages I speak. He said ‘¿Dónde está mi hijo’ which means where is my son and ‘Me dices donde es’ means tell me where he is.”  
“Thank you Rose.” Sam said. He and Dean decided to call it a night and headed to their cabin to discuss things.  
“So, an old Spanish speaking ghost. How the heck did he get on board? I thought you said this ship started sailing in 2006?” Dean said.  
“I don’t know. It has to be a cursed object.” Sam said still bouncing on the balls of his feet. Now not only did he have a caffeine high, but now had adrenaline racing through his system. The combination of both had him wide awake despite the early morning hours. “Tomorrow when everyone is in port we can scan the ship for the object.”  
Dean nodded sadly; he had been hoping to go ashore. “God I’m exhausted.” Dean replied. His adrenaline had worn off and he just longed to rest his head on that comfortable pillow. Sam didn’t reply, but he did give Dean an epic I’m going to kill you in your sleep bitch face. This was a new one for Dean so he named it bitch face number twenty-three.  
They both changed for bed and it was after 3AM. Sam closed his eyes, but he could still feel his left leg twitching under the covers. He rolled over to a more comfortable position and still nothing. He counted sheep, then he pictured the sheep jumping over a fence. Those hyperactive sheep weren’t having any impact on his ability to sleep. So he pictured them as lamb chops. Stupid fluffy white sheep!  
He heard Dean snoring softly, in a deep sleep and wanted to smother his brother’s face with a pillow. Fucking dead eye at almost midnight. What a jerk! The pillow was making his face hot so he turned it over to the cooler side. Then he rolled over again pushing the sheets down loudly, Dean continued to sleep on. Sam finally gave up with his leg still twitching; sleep was impossible. Maybe a run on the jogging track would help. Sam gave no regard to his sleeping brother. Served him right! Sam even turned on the overhead light. But his annoying big brother slept through it all. As Sam left the cabin he eyed the pillow one more time thinking how nice it would be to smother that peaceful look off Dean’s smug face.   
Sam took the stairs to deck twelve. The night sky was clear and being out at sea there were stars everywhere he looked. He stopped and admired the beautiful sky before starting his run. Sam ran an hour, the tropical ocean breeze lifting his hair out of his eyes. The peaceful sounds of the ocean relaxed him. Finally his body began to feel tired. He headed back to the cabin, took a quick shower and got into bed. His body crashed after its previous caffeine high. He glanced at the clock before drifting off to sleep. 5:30AM the clock taunted him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your kudos and comments. This is meant to be a funny cruise with some adventure tossed in. :)


	7. The first port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean see their first Caribbean port Labadee which is and island owned by Royal Caribbean. The prank war continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too many views on this fiction so I really appreciate the people who are reading and enjoying this story. I wrote this based on a cruise I went on so the cruise games and ports are fictional accounts of real ports and games. Freedom of the Seas looks like I describe in this fiction but none of the people are real. I figured out how pictures work so I'm inserting photos from my cruise. I would put them at the start of the chapter. This is Labadee.

Dean awoke at 8 a.m. feeling refreshed and hungry. He looked over to see Sam still asleep. He thought about waking Sam up for breakfast, but decided against it. Sam woke him up at 5:00 in the morning coming to bed. It really was inconsiderate of Sam to wake him up so early in the morning.  
Dean realized the ship wasn’t moving. They were docked at their first port, Labadee. Dean hastily dressed in dark grey cargo shorts and a light grey muscle shirt looking forward to his first sight of a Caribbean port. He slipped his feet into the comfortable Birkenstock sandals and headed for breakfast. He stood at the elevator waiting. Three elevators passed by his floor without stopping. His stomach growled at him in anger. He gave up and used the stairs.  
Once at deck eleven he headed out to the pool area into the steamy tropical morning. The air was crisp and clean, but the humidity caused a layer of sweat to form on his body causing the muscle shirt to cling to his chest. His first glimpse of Labadee took his breath away. The ocean wasn’t the vivid blue he was expecting, instead stunning emerald green. It was so crystal clear that he could see the white sand at the bottom. Dean could see a lush tropical rainforest in the distance. He was surprised to see bananas hanging off a large plant he had mistaken for a palm tree.  
He could see crowds of happy cruisers slathered in sunblock carrying blue Royal Caribbean towels leaving the ship. They were chatting excitedly about the beauty of the island. Dean took in his fill, still finding it hard to believe that such beauty existed in the world. The bright blue clear sky mocked him, as a hunter of the night, the sky was a rare sight indeed. Dean closed his eyes and just listened to the sounds of the island; the sound of the waves lapping against the side of the ship, a child’s light, sweet, laugh of pure joy, the click clack of heels hitting the wood of the pool area, and the chirp of a seabird defending his fish from greedy competitors. A feeling of peace filled him as the gentle tropical breeze bushed across his face cooling the sweat on his body. Finally realizing he couldn’t delay any longer Dean headed to the buffet for breakfast.  
The peaceful feeling was quickly broken by the chaos of over 3000 passengers eating breakfast all at once before heading off to port. He stood politely in line with his tray, when a middle age lady cut in front of him and said “I just want to get some bread.” Grabbing a roll and heading off not waiting for a response to her rudeness.  
No way in hell was Dean eating in this mess! If the ghost needed advice on who to attack next he had a perfect victim in mind. He watched rude bitch and was shocked when she cut the line again this time for eggs. Dean quickly made up two plates to take back to the room for him and Sam. Sam’s plate had that pink grapefruit he so loved, none of the yellow grapefruit, only pink. For a Sasquatch his little brother was quite a fussy eater. Dean decided to buy a couple of travels mugs for coffee instead of trying to balance those ridiculously tiny coffee mugs. Seriously who just drinks a thimble of coffee at a time? Dean piled on the cream and sugar for Sam. This time he was determined to catch an elevator.  
He was balancing the trays and shifting impatiently from one foot to the other waiting for the slow ass elevator. But finally he was able to catch an elevator and get down to the cabin. He looked at the door wistfully; he really hadn’t thought this through. He had no hands to reach into his pocket to grab his key and open the door. He could either knock with his elbow and hoped Sam woke up and let him in or he could set the tray of food on the floor.  
Neither option was appealing; he was saved from making a decision by their cabin steward, Melinda. “Would you like me to get the door?” She asked smiling at his predicament.  
“Yes, please.” Dean replied in a relieved voice.  
She opened the door and held it for Dean. Melinda couldn’t help but noticed Sam asleep; he was shirtless with the sheet bunched around his hips. Her eyes greedily took in the sight, while trying not to be too obvious in her staring. Fortunately, she averted her eyes as Dean thanked her for the help. She shut the door and walked away whistling, this was definitely her favorite cabin.  
The smell of coffee woke Sam up. “Dude, put on a shirt! You almost gave poor Melinda a heart attack.” Dean laughed. Sam looked confused but put on his shirt. He was sporting a killer headache and his eyes felt like sandpaper had been rubbed over then. Dean turned on the overhead light.  
Sam shot him a glare through swollen eyes and mumbled something that sounded like. “fuckin’ light, pain in the ass brother. Shove my foot up his ass.” But Dean wasn’t sure he heard him right.  
“Someone’s grumpy this bright and sunny morning. We need to get a move on. It’s already 9 a.m. I can’t let you sleep the day away. We have to scan this massive ship to find one cursed object and perform salt and burn. Just as soon as. Fun, fun, fun!” Dean said sarcastically. “How big is this boat again?”  
“It’s a ship Dean.” Sam tiredly protested. Dean smiled at striking his target so cleanly. Sam was as predictable as the sun rising in the east. “The ship is 1,112 feet long and weighs 154,407 tons, now let me sleep.” he said dropping his head back onto the pillow. However, the sudden drop caused a jolt of pain to zip through his head leaving a strange metallic taste in his mouth. He moaned in agony slowly sitting back up as Dean handed him a bottle of Tylenol and his cup of coffee. The aroma of the coffee lifted Sam’s eyes to half-mast. Dean had already added the creamer and sugar to Sam’s cup. He gave the coffee a suspicions look, Dean laughed at the look, causing more pain to radiate through Sam’s head.  
“Dude the coffee is fine, drink the damn thing and take some Tylenol. I need your help to scan the ship. I’m not going to screw with you while we hunt.”  
Sam took Dean at his word popping the pills and drinking his coffee. Dean dug into his own meal enjoying his sausage, eggs and gravy. Sam slowly made his way through the fresh fruit, yogurt and blueberry muffin grateful Dean had brought him edible food, unlike the greasy pile of goo Dean was shoveling into his pie hole. After the meal Sam got dressed in black cargo shorts and a black V-necked t-shirt slipping his feet into Birkenstock sandals. Both boys brushed their teeth and headed out with EMF meters on. Sam was still dragging ass, but he seemed more alert after eating.  
They started on Deck two. Sam checked port side while Dean checked starboard. They went deck by deck for hours, with oddly annoying results. Dean’s EMF meter went off on deck three, he called Sam over to the spot but the EMF meter was now silent. The same thing happened to Sam on Deck seven and his patience grew thin as they made their way through the ship. By deck ten Sam wanted to throw the useless thing at the wall when it went off again only to be silent a moment later. They made it to deck eleven with the EMF meters still in one piece and Sam got his first view of Ladabee. His swollen eyes opened wider than they had all day. Even though Dean had already seen the island, after hours of searching the ship he was again amazed by the splendor around him.  
“Wow, the ocean is so green and clear.” Sam said in awe. Just then Rose came over, she was once again wearing her pink Himalayan salt crystal necklace.  
“Hi lads.” She greeted with a smile. “It’s a gorgeous island isn’t it?” She asked. She had noticed their wide eyed stares. It was always fun for her to see the first time cruiser’s reactions to the island; it was almost like seeing it new all over again.  
“I’ve never seen anything so exquisite before. The ocean is so green.” Sam said as through he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  
“Wait until you see Grand Cayman.” The three of them stood for a moment and enjoyed the peaceful beauty that surrounded them.  
“So Xavi left the ship this morning and I got my necklace back.” Rose said smiling in relief.  
“No other problems with the ghost?” Dean asked.  
“Nope, what’s in your hand?” Rose asked.  
“These are EMF meters; we’re trying to get a read on the object the ghost is attached to.” At Rose’s puzzled look Dean continued. “A ghost can haunt a place if his DNA is attached to an object. His energy will set off the electromagnetic field meter, EMF for short.”  
“This ship is powered by Six Wartsila 46 V12 diesels each rated at 12.6MW driving electric generators at 514 rpm. In addition to the propulsion gear, ABB Maritime also supplied medium-speed switchgear, including 43 panels of 11kV uniGear with protection devices, six generators, 19 transformers and low-voltage distribution apparatus.” Rose said showing her impressive knowledge of the ship. “Won’t all the power make your readings unpredictable and unusable?”  
“Yes it would.” Sam said in disgust turning off the meter.  
“Well look, its 2PM ship time. They’re serving a buffet lunch at the beach. All you have to do is take the tram over to the beach area. Have some lunch and a swim while you figure out a new way to find your needle in a hay stack. The ghost’s main target is off the ship and safe so you have some time.” Rose reassured the boys.  
“That’s a great idea.” Dean quickly agreed. Sam was to tired to care, sitting on the beach with an ice cold beer was a great plan. He was already sweltering under the hot Caribbean sun.  
The boys headed to the cabin to change into swimsuits. Dean was relieved Sam had agreed to take a break. Sam did look a little like the walking dead. As they walked down the dock to the tram Dean was staring at the ocean. He saw these electric blue long nose fish swimming by. He elbowed Sam who gave him an irritated glare. Until he saw what Dean was pointing at.  
“Wow, cool fish.” Sam stopped to watch the fish swim away from the dock.  
“This place is so amazing.” Dean said smiling.  
They caught the tram and were at the beach in record time. Some of the other passengers had called it a day so the beach wasn’t too bad. They got two striped beach chairs under a palm tree. Dean got them a couple of Coronas with lime in wide mouthed plastic bottles, while Sam rested his eyes.  
“Okay lazy ass I got you breakfast and a beer. You’re getting your own lunch. The buffet is down there.” Dean said pointing to a shaded area.  
Sam sighed as he headed over to get his lunch. As he was nearing the buffet he saw a Haitian woman, with two thin small children. The mother’s eyes held her sadness and desperation, while her 4 year old daughter clung to her leg partially due to shyness, partially out of fear. Her 8 year old son was braver and determined to be the man of the house for his momma. The son started to approach Sam, but the closer he got the bigger Sam looked. His fear suddenly overtook him and the rushed back to momma tripping over his clumsy feet and falling to the ground with a painful sounding thud.  
Sam saw the fall and his heart gave a little jolt of fear for the boy’s sake. He looked so thin it didn’t seem like he could recover from a fall like that. In an instant Sam was at the boy’s side. He arrived at the same moment the mother did.  
“Are you okay?” Sam asked in concern. The mother had been alarmed at the large man hovering over her eldest son. But when she saw the gentle look in his eyes and the way he was looking over her son for injuries she recognized him as a healer.  
“Are you doctor?” The mother stammered out, uncertain that she said the correct words.  
“No, but I’ve cared for my brother.” Sam said with a smile. “You’re okay.” He said to the boy, who despite fall, had not cried out. His knee was skinned, but he refused to show any signs of pain that might distress his momma.  
The boy got the courage to look Sam dead in the eye and ask, “manje.” As he pointed at the large buffet tables covered in food.  
The mother approached the boy pulling him away, but he refused to go holding his ground and said, “pou manje pou sè” he said pointing to his wafer thin baby sister.  
Then he found one of the few English words he knew and with a sad voice said “Please. pou manje pou sè. pou manje pou manman. Please.”  
Sam understood this poor family was hoping for cast offs from the buffet and it broke is heart to see this. Sam nodded his head and said to the mother. “Wait here, I’ll get you food.” Seeing the mother’s blank look, he pointed to the food. “Manje, for you.” She understood smiling.  
Sam rushed over to the buffet. Antonio the assistant waiter at his dining table had seen the interaction and was already loading a plate for Sam. “Mr. Osbourne over here.” He called.  
It took Sam a moment to realize the call was for him. “The homeless people of the island come here on days the ship is in dock. We feed them the leftovers from the buffet.” Antonio said. “I saw you with the family, it’s sad to see them suffering.”  
Sam nodded, “Thank you for making this plate for me to bring to them. Is it okay if I get them some water or ice tea also?”  
“That will be fine.” Antonio said smiling.  
Sam hurried over with the loaded plate. The boy’s eyes got big when he saw the amount of food. He smiled at Sam and said the only two other English words he knew. “Thank You.” Sam smiled while the family found a place to eat their meal.  
Sam got his own food feeling grateful for his life. Sure when they were young they ate a lot of Lucky Charms and Spaghetti O’s, but he had never experienced the type of bone gnawing hunger this family dealt with day after day. He looked back over at the family seeing the little boy helping his sister to eat before taking a bite himself. Feeling in his pocket he found a twenty dollar bill and rushed back to the mother.  
He handed it to her, “For your family.” He hoped the money would help her.  
Her eyes got huge and some of the sadness lifted. When she smiled, he could see the beauty that was hidden behind her suffering “Thank You.”  
“You’re welcome.” Sam said smiling and walking away to get his own lunch. He even felt like making up a plate for his annoying older brother. He came back to see Dean enjoying his beer and relaxing with his sunglasses on.  
“Here I got you lunch.” Sam said handing over Dean’s plate loaded with fried chicken, a hamburger, a hot dog, macaroni and potato salads.  
“Thank you Sammy.” Dean said with a smile, plowing into the food with enthusiasm.  
Sam smiled back enjoying his salad and beer. After lunch both brothers were feeling the heat of the Haitian sun. They stripped off their shirts, the emerald ocean calling their names. Dean was shocked at the soothing warmth of the sea. It still amazed him how clear the water was. The soft wet sand of the ocean floor squished between his toes as he walked deeper into the ocean. He floated on his back staring up at the blue sky. He noticed a few fluffy white clouds. They made sky appear an even brighter blue by contrast. His tension, he wasn’t even aware he had been carrying, drifted away as he floated along.  
Off to his right Dean noticed a play area in the ocean for kids. There were inflated toys to climb through and bounce on. The water trampoline looked like a blast. Dean secretly wanted to go over there and play, but figured the parents might be freaked out by an adult man playing on the kids toys. Plus he was really enjoying just floating along and letting the light current slowly move him back and forward. He looked over to his brother’s blissed out face and knew he wasn’t the only one enjoying this break.  
Soon enough their break was over and they headed back to the ship with a stop in the tourist shopping area to find anything made of iron to defend against the ghost. Dean received a lot of compliments from the shopkeepers in their attempts to get him to spend his money. A one point a man offered him porn at a low price, which Dean declined with a laugh.  
Sam was up ahead in a stall looking for iron, when Dean spotted a mother with two young children a boy and a girl. They looked to be homeless and begging for money. The boy looked him in the eye with a challenging look, letting Dean know that he would protect his family with his life. Dean gave him a look of respect and a head nod of acknowledgement. The boy understood and softened his gaze. Dean bought a doll at one of the stands. Walking back over to the family he handed the little girl the doll. She immediately hugged the toy to her chest. Dean then handed the mother a twenty. Shook the boy’s hand and headed back to meet Sam. Neither Sam nor Dean found anything made of iron in the small shopping area.  
Sam was refreshed from his nap and the relaxing afternoon at the beach. Dean was hungry again and wanted pizza so he went to the pizza place called Sorrento's on the Royal Promenade deck five. Sam headed for the cabin and a much needed shower. By the time Dean came back to the cabin raving about some tasty desserts, Sam was bored and wanted to roam the ship. They agreed to meet at the dining room as dinner was in an hour.  
Sam ended up back on the Royal Promenade watching a demonstration of the fresh fruit being turned into different animals and it gave him an idea. He stood in front of the Cupcake Cupboard with a plan that he hoped would work. After conducting his business and setting up the delivery for later that night he left the Cupcake Cupboard with an evil grin gracing his face. He was on the lookout for their cabin steward, Melinda. He was lucky to see her from the stairs on deck six. “Melinda.” Sam called out to get her attention.  
She stopped and turned to look up and see Sam’s face. She smiled, “How can I help you Sam.”  
Sam felt a little stupid and rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Well, uh I just wanted to uh warn you about the room. I’m having a special cake delivered for my brother and I didn’t want to alarm you.” Sam explained, badly, judging by the blank look on Melinda’s face.  
“Why would a cake alarm me?” Melinda questioned clearly confused.  
“It’s the shape of the cake.” Sam tried again, but saw that Melinda didn’t understand. “Okay it’s a prank I’m playing on my brother.” He went on to explain in detail by the end Melinda was laughing and quite impressed with the whole idea. She had Sam tell her a time the big reveal would take place, because she was dying to see how this played out.  
“Go down to the guest relations desks and get tickets to the ice skating show. It’s right after dinner and will keep your brother out of the room until you’re ready.” Melinda advised with a smile on her face.  
Sam gave her a quick hug and rushed back down the stairs to get the tickets. Melinda was left feeling entertained and flushed from the very pleasant hug. She was proud of herself for resisting the strong unprofessional urge to grab his ass. He had such a nice ass. She saw her friend Serena, who was enjoying hearing the tales from cabin hottie’s room. “Is that him? The shirtless sleeper?” Serena asked. “Damn he is tall and such an adorable smile. What did he talk to you about?”  
“He’s pranking his brother. This is going to be great. Can you meet me in the hallway of 7298 at 10:30?” Melinda asked.  
“His brother is the guy in the Speedo from the contest?” Melinda nodded her head. “Heck yeah,” Serena exclaimed.  
Sam was ten minutes late to the dining room. He had his tickets in hand and was a bit out of breath from the jog down the stairs. Dean was already seated at the table munching on a bread roll. “Hi Antonio.” Sam greeted the assistant waiter who smiled and brought him a menu and his usual ice tea.  
“You’re late.” Dean greeted.  
“Sorry some people were raving about the ice skating show so I got us tickets.” Sam replied.  
Sandy joined into the conversation at that point seeing Dean’s doubtful expression. “June and I saw the show yesterday. It’s amazing what the skaters can do with such a small area. I think you’ll really enjoy it.”  
June noted Dean’s expression was still doubtful so she added her two cents worth. “I agree, the female skating with the hula hoops was so amazing; the way she could move her hips to hold all those hula hoops, wow.” As predicted Dean suddenly looked interested in the show. Men were so easy, she thought with a smile. She caught Sam’s eye, he clearly understood what she did and was grateful for it.  
“Well since you already got the tickets and everything. It can’t hurt to check it out.” Dean said “I wonder where the rest of our tablemates are?”  
“I saw Austin and Kayla at the buffet. They wanted a quick dinner and early bed time.” Sandy replied.  
Waldo and Trudy never did show up and with only four people the dinner service went quickly. Dean got the Braised Short Ribs that just seemed to melt in his mouth. They were so good he didn’t want to sip his water and remove that wonderful taste from his mouth. Sam got his normal salad starter that he insisted was delicious but really looked like someone weeded the garden and tossed it on his plate. For his main course he got something called a Vegetable Vindaloo, which looked pretty good for a pile of rice and veggies.  
For dessert, Sam got the Ivory Chocolate Fondue, a white chocolate mousse with sweet berries. Since Dean refused to acknowledge white chocolate as being ‘real’ chocolate he went with a dessert known by the strange name of BBB. Standing for Banana and Bailey’s Irish Cream Brulee and it was divine. When Nelda refilled his cup of coffee, Dean declared her to be a dining room goddess and asked her to run away with him. She blushed with pleasure while Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. However, Sandy and June were entertained by the antics of their charming tablemate.  
The boys lingered over their coffee listening to Sandy and June talk about their parasailing adventure on Labadee. “You boys should get going or you’ll be late for the show.” Sandy warned them sounding like a mother hen.  
“Wow, time flies with such pleasant company.” Dean complimented as they left the dining room and headed to the ice show.  
The boys were lucky as good seats were still available. The show hadn’t started yet so Sam was reading the screen that displayed the skater’s pictures and descriptions. Dean just checked out the pictures rating the female skaters on a scale of 1 to 10. He was delighted to see no female rated under a seven. Sam called him a chauvinist pig. Dean simply smirked as the show started. Both boys’ jaws dropped impressed with the tricks the skaters performed. At one point a pirate ship brought was out and delighted children were plucked from the audience to sit in the ship as it whirled around on the ice.  
Dean’s favorite was definitely the hula hoop girl. Sam had to agree she was amazing. At one point she had six hula hoops on her body and two additional hoops on each hand spinning at eye blurring speeds. She turned circles on the ice while her hips moved to the beat of the music. A man skated by as she tossed the hoops to him one at time. It was incredible to watch her bring the last one from her knees up her body with a series of graceful body movements. She got it all the way to her left hand before gracefully flicking it to her assistant. There was thunderous applause and Dean had to admit he was glad Sam got the tickets.  
As they left the show Dean noticed the perverted picture taking couple who had videoed him in the World’s sexiest man contest. He overheard their conversation. “They were really good.” The lady complimented the show.  
The husband looked disappointed. “I like the costumes better on Carnival more thongs!”  
The wife laughed, “Come on pervert.” She remarked guiding him to the elevators. Dean was left wondering/hoping if any of the Carnival ships were haunted.  
Dean was feeling tired from lack of sleep the night before and a busy day today. Sam was also looking forward to getting back to the room but for entirely different reasons. Sam noticed how many cabin stewards were lurking in their hallway. He saw a smiling Melinda. She gave he a subtle thumbs up that the cake had been delivered. Dean easily got the card slot to work this time and entered the cabin.  
Sam stood outside the cabin silently counting. By four Dean let out a horrible shriek, the type Sam hadn’t heard his brother make since he was infected by ghost sickness and the cat in the locker surprised him. “Snake, snake in our room!!!” Dean shouted running out of the cabin in a panic; to see Sam and four cabin stewards laughing so hard tears rolled down their faces. The occupants of nearby cabins came to the hallway alarmed by the screaming.  
“It’s not a snake Dean. I got you a cake. Wasn’t that nice of me?” Sam smirked. The audience gathered in the hallway wanted to see this cake that so scared the bejesus out of Dean. Sam finally got a look at it himself and was amazed at the likeness to a real Albino Burmese Python, coiled as if to spring. He brought the cake out to the hallway and everyone oooed and aahed at how lifelike the cake was.  
Dean’s face was bright red with embarrassment as he took the good natured ribbing about his girly screams. One large man from Texas claimed he hadn’t heard a squeal like that since his pig Clara was a baby. Finally, the excitement died down and Sam was given many slaps on the back for his creative prank. Dean thought Sam had no idea of what he’d started. This means war!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used an internet translator for Haitian Creole hopefully it’s correct.  
> Manje means food, pou manje pou sè means food for sister and pou manje pou manman means food for mother.
> 
> Special thanks to North Star Cakes in the UK for making the Albino Burmese Python and giving me a great idea for this prank. I was trying to think of a really unique prank and a co-worker sent me a picture of this cake and viola the idea was born. It really is an amazing cake I have added a picture of it from their facebook page.


	8. Second port  Jamaica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean stop at their second port Jamaica things don't go as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments and kudos. I'm really glad I can add the photos now these are all pictures I took. This cruise went to some beautiful places. I'm still figuring out the formatting so hopefully it doesn't look to bad.

 

Sam woke up to the darkness of the room. He reached for his watch and hit the light to see the time, 6 A.M. He felt a moment of frustration, why was he awake this early? He realized it was the ship, it was no longer moving. His body was use to the gentle rocking motion of the ship. Also, his hay fever allergies were killing him. He didn’t realize how bad they were until he was out to sea with no pollen to bother him. Sam glanced over to Dean’s bed and noticed he was out cold.  
Sam closed his eyes in an attempt to fall back asleep but then his brain started making a to-do list. They needed iron and salt. All they had was a silver knife Dean somehow snuck through security. But silver was useless against a ghost, unless it was the ghost of a werewolf, then maybe the knife would work. Sam shook his head, of course it wouldn’t work against a werewolf ghost. Wait was there such a thing as werewolf ghost? Didn’t werewolves normally go to purgatory after they died? So no ghost. Now that Sam’s brain finished the tangent it was on maybe he could focus back on the problem.  
This ghost’s uniform appeared to be that of a sailor from the 1800s. Sam thought back to the list, they needed salt and iron. They needed to know why the ghost was picking these targets and they needed to identify the cursed object. Moments like this Sam missed Bobby most of all. There was no one they could trust who knew as much about the supernatural as their bearded, whiskey guzzling friend. Sam’s throat tightened realizing he would never again be called in idjit by his second dad. Sam pushed the thought away; dwelling on his friend’s death wouldn’t help anything. So he forced his brain back on topic. How was he going to find this cursed object?  
Sam’s bouncing around the bed caused Dean to open one sleepy eye and mutter. “Keep it down Sammy I’m trying to sleep.” Then Dean rolled over and Sam could hear his snores start back up. Lucky bastard can fall to sleep in five minutes.  
Sam glanced back at the clock, 6:42 A.M. damn it. He closed his eyes to try and sleep. But his traitorous brain refused to comply. Instead it asked what if a werewolf died in human form? Since they died as a human maybe they wouldn’t go purgatory. If this was the case it was possible for a werewolf ghost to exist so the silver knife would work. However, since they died as a human and not a werewolf they would just be a normal ghost; so they wouldn’t be affected by silver. He killed Mason when she was human, he really hoped that meant she went to heaven and not purgatory. Stop brain!! I need to sleep, Sam thought as he rolled over again. Finally, while listening to Dean’s rumbling snores Sam was able to enter a restless sleep. In his dreams he was chased by werewolf ghosts that only reacted to silver, but he lost the silver knife. Every time he tried to get back to the cabin he had to wait for the elevator. This was because the stairs had an out of order sign. In the dream he stood helpless watching as elevator after elevator whizzed past him. He tried to hide behind a pole from the werewolf ghosts. Finally the elevator opened and a bright white light assaulted his eyes and he heard Dean’s sing song voice shouting, “Wakey wakey hands off snakey.”  
He realized the bright light from his dream was actually the overhead lights Dean had flipped on. He shot Dean a bitch face and was shocked at the sight of the snake cake. It was now missing a section that Dean eating with gusto.  
“Ah Dean you’re eating the snake?” Sam questioned shock.  
“Dude, this cake is awesome.” Dean said.  
The head of the snake was still intact, but the body had a large missing piece. Oddly enough the cake was even creepier this way. A clever baker had made the snake out of red velvet cake so the inside was a bloody red color.  
“You want a piece?” Dean asked around a mouth full of cake.  
Sam looked at the head of the snake. The face seemed to be asking why he was being subjected to Dean’s ravenous appetite. Sam guiltily looked away from the snake.  
“No thanks.” Sam replied heading for the bathroom since his bladder was now fully awake.  
Leaving the bathroom Sam noticed Dean slicing another piece of cake. He could have sworn he heard the cake hiss in distress as more of its moist red body was removed. “Dude we’re going to breakfast. Why are you still eating?”  
“I’m hungry, besides, Kaa understands. Don’t you Kaa?” Dean said patting the snake’s head.  
“You named the cake after the snake in ‘the Jungle Book’? I thought you said you hated that movie?” Sam said surprised.  
“I hated it after the 50th time you insisted we watch it! Besides, he looks like a Kaa cake to me.” Dean said amused at his own turn of phrase. Sam just rolled his eyes.  
Dean muttered under his breath “one.” Sam heard, but chose to ignore.  
“We need iron and salt.” Sam said.  
“Okay.” Dean said, a few cake crumbs clinging to his chin held in place by yellow icing. The sight disgusted Sam.  
“You got some crumbs.” Sam said gesturing to his chin. Dean wiped the wrong side. “No other side.” Finally the crumbs were removed and Sam could look at him again without cringing.  
Dean explained their main problem. “So the EMF meters are worthless because we’re floating around on an electric power plant. So how’re we gonna locate the object?” Dean questioned.  
“We need to know more about the ghost. I need to find an internet café in Jamaica so I can get online, I want to research the uniform the ghost was wearing.” Sam told Dean.  
“We’ll find you an internet café.” Dean said as he set his empty plate down. “But first we need to get ready. The buffet will be a mess this morning. I say we hit the gym then get some breakfast after the crowds have cleared out.”  
“Is it really that bad?” Sam questioned.  
“Oh yeah, remember hell? Picture it with screaming kids.” Dean said shuddering at the memory. Sam smiled at Dean’s reaction; he always did hate the shrill screams of children.  
They changed and headed to the gym, looking forward to hitting the boxing ring again. Andro greeted them after they finished their treadmill and weight training. “Hello gentlemen, my friend is a MMA fighter and he was looking for a sparring partner. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping him out.”  
Before Sam could reply, Dean answered. “Sure it would be interesting to spar with someone new.”  
“Great, he’s lifting weights, I’ll go grab him.” Andro said, excited Dean had agreed so easily.  
“I’m not sure that was such a great idea, MMA fighters are seriously well trained.” Sam warned his brother.  
Dean just scoffed, “how much worse can he be than what we normally fight?”  
Dean felt like eating those words when Andro came back with a man who was about Dean’s height and 230 pounds of solid muscle. The man’s square jaw and crew cut completed the intimidating mountain of man.  
“This is my friend Mirko Filipović. Mirko this is Sam and Dean Osbourne.” Andro introduced his friend. Mirko smiled and shook hands with the boys, Dean was relieved to see his express softened and he wasn’t so intimidating when he smiled.  
“So who will spar with me?” Mirko asked the boys who looked at each other and threw rock, paper, and scissors. Dean threw rock and Sam threw paper. Smirking Sam handed Dean the boxing gloves.  
“In what world does paper beat rock?” Dean grumbled as he entered the boxing ring. Dean’s first shock sparring with Mirko was the fact that Mirko was a southpaw. Dean was unprepared for the many left handed punches thrown his way. Being a hunter he was trained for the unexpected and he managed to avoid the left handed punches. But then Mirko’s left footed round house kick caught him in the head and had him seeing stars. Dean staggered back a couple of steps, but quickly shook it off and started after the big man with a couple of good kicks of his own.  
He landed a right roundhouse kick that set Mirko back on his heels; it also seemed to put the big man into fifth gear. Mirko started in with a flurry of jabs that Dean mostly dodged. Mirko was used to hitting his target and was getting winded following Dean’s footwork. Mirko had listened to his friend Andro rave about the guys at the gym, but he hadn’t realized just how good they were. Twenty minutes into the fight the two men looked to be evenly matched in speed and skill so they decided to conclude the session. Sam hadn’t had a chance in the ring so Dean agreed to spar fifteen minutes with his brother. Mirko was truly impressed with the boys. Sam’s long reach gave him an advantage, but Dean appeared to have endless stamina.  
Andro came over to Mirko, “Didn’t I tell you?”  
“Where do they fight?” Mirko asked.  
“They don’t fight anywhere. They said it was a hobby” Andro replied. Mirko looked at him in shock.  
“No one learns to fight like that for a hobby.” Mirko said just as Sam and Dean finished their session with Sam once again on the ground.  
Mirko went over to thank them for the session. “Most of my sparring partners go down when I hit them with the roundhouse kick. You really are a great fighter.”  
“Thanks that kick seriously rang my bell.” Dean replied with a smile. Mirko was intense in the ring, but outside of it he seemed like a fun loving guy.  
“Andro says you don’t fight professionally. Why not? You could make a lot of money?” Mirko asked.  
“We’re pretty busy with our current jobs.” Sam replied to which Dean said under his breath. “That no one pays us for.” Sam gave Dean, the shut up you are going to get us in trouble look.  
“Well if you ever change your mind, look me up.” Mirko said. “I have worked up an appetite for breakfast. The Krvavica on this ship is almost as good as in Croatia.”  
Dean looked confused and asked. “What is Krvavica?”  
“It’s a type of Croatian sausage. They call it by the Spanish name of Morcilla at the breakfast buffet,” Mirko replied.  
“I’ll have to try that out.” Dean said smiling.  
“Thanks for the work out. We need to hit the showers and get some breakfast.” Dean said patting his stomach.  
“Bye Andro.” Sam called out at they headed back to the cabin.  
The boys took a couple of quick showers, then headed to the buffet. Dean insisted on trying the Morcilla. Sam gave the sausage a doubtful look, it was almost black in color with bits of rice mixed in. He didn’t think it looked very appetizing despite Dean’s claims that it was amazing. After eating their fill, the boys stopped by the front desk to see where the nearest internet café was. The closest was in Montego Bay about 17 miles away called Cybershores.  
After leaving the ship, Sam and Dean walked out of the security area to be greeted by men wearing green and yellow clothes and walking on stilts. They were taking pictures with the tourists for tips.  
“Dude you’re almost as tall as those guys.” Dean said laughing.  
Sam gave him an eye roll, which Dean silently counts as number five. “I’m not that tall! Let’s just find some iron, please.”  
Past the men on stilts was a large shopping area. The boys checked the different shops with vendors encouraging them into the store, and then pressuring them to buy different souvenirs. Dean was fast losing his patience with the pushy sales people. The tacky souvenir shops or the jewelry stores in the area had no iron.  
“Let’s just get a taxi to Montego Bay. Maybe we’ll have better luck there. At the very least we can check out the internet café and research this hunt.” Sam suggested much to Dean’s relief.  
They found a taxi quickly, in fact they found four. They watched as the drivers fought each other on who would get the fare to Montego Bay. Finally the drivers worked out their differences and the boys were off to the internet café. The roads were rough and their driver was crazy. He sped so fast that the car caught air on the larger potholes in the road. Sam and Dean bounced around the back seat like a couple of pin balls. They almost kissed the ground when they arrived at Cybershore internet cafe. The building was brightly painted purple, teal green and bright yellow. Normally this would be gaudy, but it seemed to fit the tropical island. After paying a flat fee Sam hooked up the internet and was happily researching the uniform.  
Dean set out in search of iron. After an hour of searching and pushy sales people Dean was no closer to finding an iron object than when he started. He was about ten seconds away from punching the next person that grabbed his arm to force him into their store. Damn the sales people here were pushy. He really hoped Sam was having better luck. He was getting ready to try another store when he heard a scream. He ran towards the sound to find himself in a dark, narrow alley. Dean was surprised to find that Althea was the source of the screams. She was kneeling down tending to a man her age who had been hit. There were four other men staring at the couple on the ground. Dean saw the flash of a blade from one of the men.  
He quickly intervened before someone got stabbed. “What’s going on guys?” He said addressing the four menacing men.  
“You can go, we don’t need you here.” The biggest of the four men replied.  
“Well, Althea is my friend so she can come with me.” Dean said staring the man right in the eye, while reaching for the silver knife he had bought along.  
“I don’ tink so, Althea and her man will be staying here.” A tall thin man who appeared to be the leader stated.  
“You see, that just doesn’t work for me. I tink it would be best if Althea and her man joined me.” Dean said mocking the man’s accent.  
The mocking did the trick; the four men were now entirely focused on Dean. They tried to circle him, but Dean kept his back to the alley wall so they couldn’t attack him from behind. He got into his fighting stance preparing for the imminent violence. Two men ran at him at once. He was able to block the punches directed at him and knocked one of his attackers out cold with a lighting fast roundhouse kick to the head.  
However, the second man gave him a punch to the gut that made the air whoosh out of his body. He controlled his breathing and to the man’s surprised disappointment Dean didn’t fall down. Seeing the punch didn’t have the desired affect the man pulled a large knife and came at Dean slashing so wildly it was a wonder he didn’t hit his companions. Dean took out his much smaller silver knife and where his attacker’s swings were wild and unpredictable, Dean’s were precise. The man quickly dropped the knife and leaped away when his hand was slashed by the silver blade. Dean faced the other two men with blood dripping from his blade a steel glint in his eye.  
“Well let’s get this show on the road.” He yelled at the remaining men. Both men ran at him, thinking a coordinated attack would be best. Dean grabbed both men’s heads and conked them together with a sickening thud. The men fell to the ground out cold. The man with the bleeding hand decided now would be a good time to run and took off down the alley.  
“Are you guys alright.” Dean asked Althea in concern. He noticed the man on the ground was bleeding from his lip and his left cheek was quickly swelling up.  
“We need to get some ice on that cheek.” Dean said helping a very shaken up and silent Althea. “Althea are you with me?” Dean said sharply trying to break her out of her panic induced trance.  
“Yea, there is a restaurant around da corner. They’ll help.” Althea replied helping Dean gently lift her dazed husband to his feet.  
“What’s your husband’s name?” Dean asked to get her talking and keep her from going into shock.  
“His name is Daevon; Daevon this is Dean, he is one of da passengers on da ship.”  
Althea spoke directly to her husband who despite his dizziness looked up at Dean and said. “Thank you for helping us. Those men were going to hurt my Althea.” Dean was surprised to hear Daevon’s perfect English accent. Althea laughed seeing his reaction.  
“He is from da islands, but he is taking college at Cambridge. My man is smart. He is a structural engineer” Althea said with pride in her voice.  
“Right now I would prefer to have Dean’s fighting skills to protect you.” Daevon said embarrassed at needing a stranger’s help to protect his bride.  
“I’m glad you is no fighter. You are much better as a lover not a fighter.” Althea said and leaned in for a kiss. Dean was feeling uncomfortable, wishing Sam was there. Sam was so much better at the sensitive talking thing. They sat Daevon down in the restaurant and Dean excused himself to grab the ice, he called Sam for help.  
“Hello” Dean was relieved Sam picked up on the first ring.  
“Hey Sam, I ran into Althea and her husband Daevon being attacked. I stopped the men doing it, but they’re still pretty shaken up. I could use your help.” Dean almost pleaded on the phone.  
“Oh my God, are you guys alright?” Sam said in concern. Dean could hear rustling as Sam put away the laptop and rushed towards the door.  
“Daevon got a bit banged up, but he’ll be fine. We’re at a restaurant called The Pork Pit. It’s bright yellow with a thatched roof and there’s a picture of whole pig on a spit. Seriously dude you can’t miss it. Plus it smells amazing in here.” Now that the excitement was over Dean’s stomach was reminding him it was lunch time.  
“I’ll be there soon.” Sam said hanging up rushing out of the cyber café.  
Now that Sam was coming to deal with the emotional aftermath and the adrenaline was leaving his body, Dean was feeling the aches and pains from his fight. He had sparred with a giant this morning, and then fought off four full grown men. He could feel a large bruise forming on his stomach. He felt tired and wished they were back at the ship. Taking hits like that was more damaging now that he was in his thirties instead of his twenties. He would never let Sam know it but his body didn’t snap back after a beating the way it used to.  
Dean came back to the booth where Althea and Daevon were sitting. It looked like a McDonald’s type booth, but was green with yellow accents. Dean handed Althea the ice pack that she gently placed in on Daevon’s cheek to help with the swelling. “Why is you boys in Montego Bay?” Althea asked after a few moments of silence.  
“We were looking for souvenirs. I was looking for a fireplace set or something made of iron for a friend back home.” Dean lied smoothly or so he thought until he met Althea’s skeptical eyes.  
“You boys are fighting da ghost Rose saw. You needing the iron to fight it.” Althea said not pulling any punches. Just than Sam entered the restaurant saving Dean from responding to Althea’s statement. Sam rushed over to his brother to check for injuries. He knew Dean would downplay his own injuries to protect others. Once Sam was satisfied that Dean was okay he checked on Althea and Daevon.  
“Are you guys alright?” Sam asked in concern. Althea removed the ice pack to show Sam the injury on Daevon’s cheek. Sam reached into his pack hidden under his clothes pulling out a white tube with purple writing that Dean smiled when he saw it.  
“This is Arnica Cream, it will help with the swelling.” Sam explained opening the tube, the sudden smell of sunflowers mixed with the smell of cooking meat in a pleasant way. For Dean the smell of sunflowers was comforting. The cream worked miracles for pain relief and reduced bruising in no time flat. He would love to borrow some for the large bruise he knew was forming on his stomach, but he didn’t want Sam to know how much he was hurting.  
“That stuff is great.” Daevon said surprised at the reduced the pain in his cheek. Sam looked up shocked at Daevon’s accent.  
“Cambridge.” Dean and Althea answered Sam’s unasked question.  
“Oh yeah.” Sam said his interested peaked. Dean cut him off.  
“We don’t really have time for you to geek out. We still need to buy those souvenirs and get back to the ship.” Dean said trying to give Sam the hint.  
Althea gave Dean a knowing smile. “Try the Craft Market. I remember seeing walking sticks with cast iron animal heads. They would make good gifts.” Althea said with a wink. Sam was done checking Daevon over and declared he had no broken bones.  
Sam felt funny just leaving them after they had been mugged. “Do you need to speak with the police?”  
For the first time they heard the perfect mix of Daevon’s deep laughter alongside Althea’s light laughter. Daevon answered Sam’s question. “There is no point going to the police. There’s nothing they can do. Don’t worry about us. Althea’s brother is a taxi driver. He’ll drive us back. In fact Althea has to head back to the ship in an hour. Why don’t you finish your shopping and Althea’s brother can take you back to the ship.”  
“That would be great, if it’s not too much trouble.” Dean replied.  
“After you saved us it’s the least we can do. We were coming here for lunch when we were jumped. This place has the best jerk chicken on the island.” Daevon proclaimed. Dean wished he could stay and eat, but Sam was already thanking Daevon and Althea and heading for the door. Dean gave one last regretful look and followed his brother. They found the craft market and the walking sticks Althea was talking about. The walking sticks were perfect because they had a nice long reach. Sam’s walking stick had an iron owl with outstretched wings on the handle. The handle of Dean’s stick had an iron eagle sitting on a rock in the sea.  
As they walked back to the restaurant, Sam explained what he found out. “The uniform is Spanish in origin probably from around the 1700s. The gold bars Rose saw on the sleeves are a sign of rank. In the Spanish military high ranking officers didn’t have epaulettes on their shoulders. Instead the ranking was on their sleeves. I think our ghost was a Spanish captain general, this is similar to an admiral.” Sam waited for Dean to take this information in.  
“So what’s a 1700 Spanish captain general doing on a cruise ship?” Dean asked.  
“I don’t know, but I think we need to talk to Waldo. He’s a navy nut; he might be able to tell us.” Sam answered but something was nagging on the edge of his memory, and wouldn’t come through.  
“That’s a good idea; we need to talk to him outside of the dining room. I don’t think we want to bring the other tablemates into this.” Dean said, Sam nodded as they entered the Pork Pit, the smell once again assaulting Dean’s nose. He watched in envy as Althea and Daevon finished up their meals.  
Dean tried not to wince in pain as he sat down in the booth putting pressure on his badly bruised stomach. Luckily Sam was to busy chatting with Althea and Daevon to notice. Dean closed his eyes as the exhaustion rushed up to greet him. He was so happy to just sit quietly and wait, he was in no hurry to move.  
It wasn’t long before Sam tapped his shoulder. “Our ride is here. How are you feeling?” Sam said in a concerned voice, regretting having to disturb Dean’s rest.  
“I’m fine.” Dean replied getting up to fast causing pain to shoot through his stomach. Sam saw the pain flash across Dean’s eyes and was annoyed to receive Dean’s standard reply.  
“Yeah, you look fine.” Sam said sarcastically. He attempted to help Dean walk, but Dean pushed his hands away. However, he did lean heavily on his new walking stick as he headed for the taxi. Althea rode up front with her brother while Sam and Dean rode in the back.  
“Thank’s for the ride back.” Sam said to Althea’s brother Adric.  
“No problem, mon. Tanks for saving my baby sister from da bad men.” Adric said with a bright smile. “Althea is telling me you’re hunting a ghost.”  
The words caused Dean to snap his eyes open. “Uh no.” Sam answered.  
“Tis okay mon. We know iron repels ghosts. Plus, Althea’s friend Rosie told her all about da ghost. He is looking for his son.” Adric explained. Dean knew Althea wasn’t going to be fooled, plus she could help them get salt.  
“Rose told you about that?” Dean questioned. At Althea’s affirmative head nod Dean continued. “Okay, yes, we’re hunting the ghost. We could use some salt and a way to find the object the ghost is attached to. This ghost is old, like 1700s old. Is there anything onboard that old?”  
“No nothin, I’ve seen is being dat old.” Althea told a disappointed Dean. They arrived at the ship and the boys offered to pay for the cab ride, but Adric flatly refused and thanked them again for helping his sister. While Althea said goodbye to her brother the boys headed for the ship to allow her some privacy.  
As Sam and Dean entered deck two of the ship they felt a rush of cold air and they could see their breath. Dean tightened his hold on the walking stick quickly heading to the elevators in an attempt to find a less crowded area. Just as they got to the elevators the ghost manifested in full military dress and shouted at Dean. “¿Dónde está mi hijo!!!!” when Dean didn’t reply the ghost rushed forward and threw him into the wall. Dean’s head hit the wall and he slumped to the ground. Sam took his owl and swept it through the ghost’s body. The ghost screamed in anger as he disappeared. Dean struggled against the darkness in his vision as Sam bend down to ask him questions. But Dean couldn’t process the words coming out of Sam’s mouth as the darkness increased in his vision until he was out cold.


	9. The ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean recovers from being tossed around by the ghost. Sam and Dean search for the object tying the ghost to the cruise ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos.

The smell of antiseptic brought Dean back to the conscious world. He kept his eyes closed to get a feeling for his surroundings. His body was a roadmap of pain. His stomach felt liked someone had branded him with a hot poker. There was a goose egg on the back of his head and it was pounding out a jaunty little tune. He felt white hot pain starting at his right hip and shooting down his leg causing a delightful pins and needles sensation in his right foot. Judging from the smell he was in a hospital of some kind, that’s just awesome he thought. One eye creaked slowly open, the light assaulting his aching head causing him to quickly close it. 

Apparently the small movement was enough for Sam to see as he heard Sam’s chair scrap against the floor tiles. His voice whispered, “I’ll turn down the light.” Dean heard footsteps walking across the room and the clicking sound of a light switch. “Okay the lights are dimmed. Try opening your eyes again.” 

Dean’s eye opened again to the darken room. He sighed in relief and opened the other eye. “What happened?” Dean asked with a parched throat. 

“The ghost tossed you into a wall. But I told the doctor that you fell down the stairs.” Sam replied. “Why didn’t you tell me about your injury?”

“What are you talking about?” Dean said playing dumb.

“Dude you have a bruise on your stomach the size of Texas. I know that didn’t happen from the ghost tossing you into the wall.” Sam said in exasperation. Dean remained silent but Sam was unrelenting. “It happened when you fought Althea’s muggers didn’t it?” Sam accused angrily. 

Dean remained silent not really knowing how to respond. “Damn it Dean! I need to know when you’re injured. You need to let me help you! I need to know if the person that has my back has something that could hinder them.” Sam hated saying that, but he knew Dean wouldn’t care about his own safety, he would care if his actions endangered his brother.

“Please stop yelling, it feels like knives stabbing me in the head.”

When Sam didn’t respond, Dean said, “You’re right. I should have told you. I didn’t want you to worry. Plus we had our plate full with Althea and Daevon.” 

Sam figured he made his point and there was no reason to beat a dead horse. “Okay so why did the ghost attack you? It seems to know we’re trying to stop it.” Sam said and for the first time Dean noticed the necklace that Sam was nervously playing with in his hands. 

“Is that Rose’s Pink Himalayan salt necklace?” Dean asked.

“Yeah she came by to check on you. Once she realized the ghost attacked you, she insisted I take it.” Sam explained looking down at the evil eye in his hands. 

Dean started to sit up; Sam rushed to his side to help him. “What time is it? I’m starving. ” Dean asked. 

“5PM we missed lunch. You’ve been out for ten minutes. The doctor says you have a concussion.” Sam explained. 

Just then the doctor came into the room to speak with the boys. “Hello I’m Doctor Caligan. How is our patient feeling?” the mid aged male doctor said in a soft voice. 

“I’m fine.” Dean replied just in time to see Sam’s ‘tell the truth’ bitch face number twelve.

“You have a grade two concussion, you shouldn’t feel fine. Please be honest with me or I won’t authorize you to leave this room.” The doctor gently chided Dean.

Dean sighed before giving an honest answer, “My head feels like someone is playing the drums on it. I get flashes of silver in my vision and my stomach hurts like a sonofabitch. I could really use some of the good pain killers.” Dean added hopefully. 

The doctor smiled “That’s better; I promise we’ll get you the good pills. Let’s test your pupils.” He flashed the light in Dean’s eyes and hummed; apparently he liked what he was seeing. “You have a mild concussion and severe bruising on your stomach. You’re lucky none of your ribs were broken. I’m going to release you, but I want you to stay in your room and get some rest.”

“But it’s dinner time!” Dean said in protest hating the idea of missing one of the great dining room meals.

“You can order room service.” Dr. Caligan answered firmly. “Also tomorrow take it easy. You shouldn’t swim in the ocean, but you can still enjoy the beach from a lounge chair.”

“I’ll make certain he stays in and rests.” Sam assured the doctor. 

Dean tried not to pout like a two year old but it was hard. He missed jerk chicken in Jamaica and now he was going to miss dinner because of this stupid ghost. Plus tomorrow was Grand Cayman, the ocean he dreamed of swimming in since seeing Lisa’s cruise pictures. 

Dean was given Tylenol with codeine to help the headache and pain. He was warned to not drink alcohol while taking the medication. Sam saw his disappointment and knew it had to do with more than missing a meal. Dean hadn’t realized it, but Sam had seen him checking out the shore excursions for Grand Cayman. His big brother really wanted to have a normal vacation experience. But now it looked like the job was taking one more thing away from his brother. 

Sam tried to help Dean walk, but he refused Sam’s help so Sam gave him his walking stick instead. Dean accepted it gratefully keeping a white knuckled grip on the iron eagle. Now, a cruise ship’s crew and a small town’s populous are similar in that no secrets were kept. So, of course, the staff knew Althea and Daevon had been attacked in Jamaica and Dean had come to their rescue. As a result the staff went out of their way to help the boys back to their cabin. One of the medical staff even had an elevator waiting for them. 

When they opened the door to their cabin the first thing they saw was a towel monkey hanging with his hands tucked under the ceiling panels holding him in place. Dean laughed in delight seeing the primate and Sam couldn’t help the smile that lit up his face. They also discovered a large container of salt with a thank you note from Althea. Next to the salt was a full meal from the dining room. The dinner included Sam’s regular salad and ice tea. For Dean the dining room staff had noticed his fondness for beef and had a large porterhouse that was normally served in the specialty restaurant ‘Chops’ waiting for him. The smell of the succulent steak set the juices flowing in Dean’s mouth. 

The dessert was beyond luscious. It was a tiramisu served with fresh raspberries in a shell bowl of milk chocolate. Alongside the dessert was an after dinner drink called a Kioki Coffee, which was a layers drink of Brandy and Kahlua topped off with whipped cream. Since Dean was banned from alcohol for twenty-four hours Sam took great delight in downing both delicious drinks.   
After the meal Dean begin to feel sleep overtake him, but he was concerned that the ghost was still out there targeting passengers and getting more aggressive, so he fought past his exhaustion. “We should go and talk to Waldo.” Dean said as he used his walking stick to struggle to his feet. 

Sam shot him an incredulous look, “Dean you have a concussion, you need to sleep and recuperate.” 

“Sammy I’m fine just a bit sore is all.” Dean’s story might have been believable if waves of dizziness hadn’t caused him to fall back onto the bed.

“You can barely stand. How would you fend off the ghost in this condition? Your body needs rest.” Sam questioned.

“Well then you need to find Waldo while I stay here.” Dean insisted. 

“Okay but you keep the necklace.” Sam said trying to hand Dean the necklace.

“No, you need that to keep you safe. I can salt the door after you leave.” Dean explained. 

“Okay, but get some rest.” Sam demanded. “I’m setting my watch alarm to ring in an hour and I’ll come to check on you.”

“Yes, mother.” Dean replied his eyes already flicking shut. 

“Dean. Awake up and salt this door.” Sam said sharply causing Dean’s eyes to snap back open. Dean nodded, this time accepting Sam’s help to stand up. Dean salted the door after Sam left. Then rolled into bed fully clothed and fell into a deep sleep.

Sam wasn’t sure where to find Waldo. He decided to try the casino, he remembered Waldo saying something about the dice game craps having the best odds in the casino. He walked through the smoked filled casino past the craps table and the slot machines with their colorful flashing lights but didn’t see Waldo. 

As he was passing the bar, some ladies clearly into their cups shouted out his name. Sam was puzzled on how these women knew him, until they demanded that he ‘shake his moneymaker.’ One lady loudly insisted he should have won since he was the world’s sexiest man. The ladies’ loud cheers caught the attention of other passengers who recognized him from their TV screens. Sam’s face was beet red at the attention as he rushed through the casino. 

The heat was still on his cheeks as Sam entered the hallway between the casino and the photo area. There, in the hallway on his left, he found Waldo staring entranced at something hung on the wall. Waldo was so engrossed that he didn’t notice Sam standing next to him. Sam was surprised at what caught Waldo’s attention. It was a figurehead. The figurehead was carved and hand painted to resemble a beautiful woman. The woman’s wooden wavy dark brown locks of hair were held in place by a carved and painted snowy white veil. 

She was painted wearing a white dress accented with gold to embellish the collar, waist and cuffs of her dress. The detail was meticulously carved into the fingers of her left hand as they clutched a blue shawl loosely draped around her right shoulder and clinging to her hips. Her smile was mischievous, as though she had an important secret and was mocking you with it. The figurehead had had two beautiful necklaces carved into her neckline. The first was a single strand of pearls the clung closely to her neck. The second had a pendant dangling from a long gold chain.

 

Waldo had finally noticed Sam standing next to him looking at the figurehead. “She’s beautiful isn’t she?” Waldo said in awe.

Sam nodded his head and asked, “Who is she?” 

“She was Captain-General Don Antonio de Echeverez’ wife. He along with Captain-General Juan Esteban de Ubilla commanded the fleet of 1715 Spanish treasure ships. He commanded six ships and Ubilla the other five. Don Antonio de Echeverez so loved his Maria that he had this figurehead carved so she could adorn his ship the La Olandesa. When the hurricanes took the ships down Echeverez almost lost his life to save the figurehead. He kept her safe for six months while he was stranded on the beach with the other 1500 survivors waiting to be rescued. She wears two necklaces. The strand of pearls was a wedding gift from Echeverez. The second is a locket. Before that fateful trip she gave Echeverez her gold locket to keep him safe.” Waldo explained pointing to the longer necklace the figurehead wore. “The locket was passed down through the women in her family. It was tradition that all the first born female’s names start with an M and at age 16 the locket would be passed on to that female.” Waldo said with reverence in his voice. 

Sam was surprised, “What happened to Echeverez after he was rescued?”

Waldo face turned sad, “He never returned home to Maria. His oldest son was on board the El Senor San Miguel. During the storm the ship vanished at sea with no survivors. Echeverez was ashamed to go home to his heart broken Maria. He refused to give up the search for his missing son and spent the rest of his life searching. Two of his Admiral Generals helped in the search for his son. They were Ernesto Castillo of the La Olandesa and Sergio Menendez of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario.” 

Just then the air got cold and Waldo shivered confused at the temperature drop. Sam was cursing himself for leaving his walking stick in the cabin. The ghost appeared, but his eyes weren’t focused on Waldo or Sam, instead the ghost stared intently at the figurehead. Rose’s Pink Himalayan salt necklace prevented him from getting any closer. He reached out his hand but couldn’t touch the figurehead. He uttered the words in despair “Mi corazón mi amor mi Maria” as he fought the effects of the necklace.

When he realized he couldn’t get any closer. His angry gaze fell on Sam. “¿Dónde está mi hijo?” His energy increased with his anger. He yelled “¿Dónde está mi hijo” and then light bulbs above Sam and Waldo exploded showering glass on their heads. The ghost rushed to attack Sam, but the necklace caused him to vanish.

“Oh my god that was a ghost. I saw a ghost. Did you see the ghost?” Waldo said as he started to hyperventilate.

“Waldo, calm down, take a slow deep breath and hold it.” Sam instructed to no avail.

“Was that the ghost of Don Antonio de Echeverez?” Waldo questioned his eyes as big as saucers. 

“Yeah, I think it was.” Sam confirmed, thinking he needed to talk to Dean.

“How did the ghost of Don Antonio de Echeverez get on this ship?” Waldo said in shock.

“He seems to be attached to the figurehead.” Sam replied. “Are you going to be alright? I need to talk with my brother. The ghost needs to be stopped.”

At that moment it occurred to Waldo how calm Sam was. Dean was also calm after the man was killed and hanging from the rock climbing wall. “Oh my god. This isn’t your first ghost, is it? What do you and Dean do?”

Sam looked pained at the question, “We can handle this ghost. But I have to go.” Sam replied leaving a shocked Waldo behind. 

Sam headed for the stairs shaking the pieces of broken light bulb from his long silky hair. As his first foot hit the stairs, he heard a voice calling his name. Sam turned towards the sound coming face to face with Sheila. Sam noticed Sheila was dressed in workout gear. She was wearing solid black Capri pants accentuating her shapely legs. This was topped with a V-necked black sports bra outlined with hot pink piping that showed off her flat golden stomach. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a high ponytail with fringe softly framing her face. She had very little makeup on showing her natural beauty that had been previously hidden under layers of heavy foundation. Her face reflected a seriousness he had not seen from her before. 

“I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to talk to you briefly. Can you give me a couple of minutes please?” Sheila asked politely.

“Okay.” Sam answered with uncertainty and a bit of impatience shadowing his words.

“I wanted to apologize to you. I’m sorry I was so forward. I just thought we could have some fun and that you playing hard to get was part of the chase.” Sheila explained shocking Sam.

“What?” Sam questioned wondering what brought this on.

“I saw you hide behind the pole last night to avoid me. It’s alright. I know I’m quite a bit older than you.” she explained calmly, but her hurt feelings were showing in her blue eyes. “I don’t want you to feel that way; you can just tell me you aren’t interested.”

Sam flushed bright red, embarrassed he had been seen. He tried to explain, “I didn’t mean to uh I mean I uh. I’m not really looking for a relationship.” Sam said stumbling for words. 

“Oh me either, I was just hoping for a shipboard fling.” She stated frankly. “But I’m aware of how ridiculous you find me.” Sheila said sadly. Before Sam could reply she continued. “A forty-five year old woman chasing after a guy in his twenties is pathetic. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you anymore.” With that she turned and walked away. 

Sam watched her leave suddenly regretting that stupid pole stunt. He stood for a moment watching her dainty derriere as she made her way up the stairs, suddenly wishing he hadn’t treated her that way. His watch went off shaking him out of his trance. He decided to take the other set of stairs so as to not follow behind Sheila. 

He entered the cabin waking Dean, who opened slightly dazed eyes. Sam softened his voice for his brother, “So how’re you feeling.”

The automatic reply from Dean was “I’m fine” than he quickly changed the subject with a question of his own. “Did you find Waldo?”

“Yup.” Sam said sitting on his bed to talk with Dean.

“Yup? Care to fill in a bit of detail?” Dean replied irritated.

“He was on Deck Four looking at the cursed object.” Sam answered having fun leading his brother down a merry path. 

“You found the cursed object.” Dean exclaimed sitting up too quickly and moaning in pain.

“Whoa, go slowly, you’re still recovering.” Sam cautioned before explaining further. “Remember Waldo talking about the fleet of 1715 that first night in the dining room?” At Dean’s blank look Sam continued explaining to Dean about the figurehead and the encounter with the ghost. He stopped mid-way through with a shocked look on his face.

“Earth to Sam.” Dean said waving his hand in front of his eyes. 

Sam looked at Dean, “I know how the ghost is picking his victims.” 

“Okay.” Dean replied waiting for Sam to explain.

“Echeverez had two Admiral Generals. They were Ernesto Castillo and Serigo Menendez and they helped him search for his son.” 

“And?” Dean asked waving his hand impatiently.

“Dining room guy was Castillo and rock climbing wall hanging dude was Menendez.” Sam said watching Dean’s face as the understanding lit behind his eyes. 

“He’s going after men with the names that match people that helped in the search for his son. He blames them for not finding his missing son.” Dean supplied to which Sam nodded in agreement.

“So why go after me? I doubt Campbell or Winchester were on board a Spanish treasure ship.” Dean asked confused.

Sam looked equally confused. “I don’t know.” 

“Who cares I say we just burn the figurehead and bye-bye old ass ghost.” Dean said happily.

“Couple problems with your plan, it’s alarmed and surrounded by security cameras. Plus, once we have the thing where the heck are we going to burn it without being caught?” Sam said rubbing his forehead. 

“Good point. We can’t really go wandering around the ship with a figurehead. How big is the thing?” Dean questioned.

“It’s about three feet tall.” Sam said, and Dean could suddenly see the issues. The ship didn’t really sleep. There were shows and activities going on all through the night including a comedy show that night by the cruise director. 

“Well look, tomorrow the ship’s in port and I can’t really do anything in Grand Cayman with this concussion anyway. Why don’t I go down and have a look? Frank showed me a couple of tricks about security systems that may come in handy.” 

Sam looked over a bit jealous Dean had learned some really cool tricks from that paranoid nut job Frank. “Rose may know where we can burn the thing or a way to get it off the ship unnoticed. But let’s get some sleep and we can deal with it tomorrow.” Sam said noticing Dean fighting to keep his eyes open. 

“Sounds good,” Dean mumbled changing his clothes and falling to back to sleep. 

Sam changed for bed thinking how it had been a long strange day. But sleep didn’t come easy, the expression of hurt on Sheila’s face bothered him more then he wanted to admit. It’s funny now that she wasn’t chasing him; he was remembering that figure and wondering why he was hiding from Sheila in the first place. Finally Sam fell into a deep sleep.

Sam was startled awake by the door to the cabin opening and the call of “housekeeping,” in Melinda’s voice. Quickly followed by, “Oh I’m sorry, your ‘do not disturb’ sign wasn’t out.” Melinda said putting the sign up and shutting the door quickly. Sam noticed her frown at the salt line covering the doorway. Melinda was disturbed by the weird line of salt, but seeing as both boys slept shirtless, she didn’t mind the extra vacuuming. She rushed off to tell Serena the latest from cabin hottie. Serena was a fan of tattoos and would be interested to know the brother’s had matching ones. 

Dean’s eyes were now opened as well. His body felt a lot better after a good night sleep. His head was now only a dull ache instead of a full throb. 

The captain’s voice filled the cabin through the speakers. “We’re encountering rough seas in Grand Cayman and are unable to tender the passengers safely. We’ll be heading to Cozumel today we should arrive there in one hour. If the seas have improved we’ll come back to Grand Cayman tomorrow.” The cabin seemed more silent after the announcement was completed. 

“What does tender mean?” Dean asked Sam after a moment of silence.

“Sometimes the ship can’t dock because it’s too big so they have to tender us to shore. We get into smaller tender boats that take us ashore. Grand Cayman is a tender port.” Sam explained and he rose slowly heading for the bathroom and a much needed shower. 

Before he could get there Dean cut him off. “Sam I need the bathroom for like ten minutes before your shower.”

“Oh come on. You’re going to totally turn it toxic before my shower!” Sam complained loudly. 

Dean turned desperate eyes to Sam, “I’ve had a lot of beef and the cows are wanting out of the barnyard door.” 

“Oh dude TMI. Go ahead, I’ll wait.” Sam said with a disgusted look on his face at Dean’s grateful look. 

Dean spent a difficult twenty minutes, with much grunting and groaning, working out his beef issues and after another ten minutes, the toxic ‘Dean’ cloud cleared enough to allow Sam to shower and them to finish their morning routine. Sam demanded that Dean eat no beef today and instead eat oatmeal, fruit and salad for the much needed fiber. Dean not wanting a repeat of this morning’s bathroom experience easily agreed. 

Dean was still using his walking stick to help his balance, but to Sam’s relief he wasn’t dependent on the stick. 

The boys passed Mindy and Sheila walking through the casino on their way to the figurehead. Mindy waved at the boys and gave Dean a wink thanking him for the dance as they walked by. But Sheila avoided looking at the boys and just politely waited for Mindy to finish talking to them. Mindy frowned in concern for her friend before they moved away. 

“What’s up with your girlfriend?” Dean asked. Sam hoped he won’t notice but of course that wasn’t Sam’s luck.

“She saw me hide behind the pole and it really hurt her feelings.” Sam sighed as he raked his hand through his hair in oblivious distress.

“Awkward, I’ll guess you’re going to have to do her now so she doesn’t feel bad.” Dean replied to which Sam rolled his eyes and Dean counted fifteen.

“Can we not talk about this?” Sam said wanting to change the subject. 

Dean agreed as they reached the figurehead. Dean admired the beautiful carving. “It’s a shame we have to light her up.” 

“Yeah, I agree. But you should have seen the way the ghost was attracted to it. Waldo said Echeverez risked his life to save her.”

“I’m surprised it’s not behind glass, anyone could just lift it off the wall.” Dean remarked.

Sam gestured to the camera overlooking the figurehead. “Not without big brother watching. Plus see the wires there.” Sam said pointing to the nearly invisible wires. “I’m betting an alarm would go off if you tried removing her.” 

Dean nodded, “Not a problem Frank showed me how to hack the alarm and put the cameras on a five minute loop. That should be enough to get her off the wall. Let’s go find Rose.”

Dean pulled out the cruise compass to see what activities Rose was hosting today. “Bingo is starting ten minutes in the Pharaoh’s palace.” Sam nodded, luckily the Pharaoh’s palace was only one deck up. It would have been faster if Sam hadn’t insisted they use the elevator. It was only one freakin’ deck. What the heck did Sam think was going to happen? Dean thought, annoyed at the mothering. As they waited for the elevator, they noticed the housekeeping staff passing by with a large wheeled plastic tub full of dirty sheets and towels going to the laundry. They both looked at each other and said in unison. “Perfect.” 

They got to Pharaoh’s palace five minutes before bingo. Rose spotted them and immediately rushed over.

“Dean, are you okay? You really scared us.” Rose said pulling him into a warm hug. He enjoyed the press of her breasts against his chest. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Dean assured as she ended the hug to examine him. “We need your help. We found the cursed object and we need to salt and burn it.”

“You can’t burn anything onboard the ship. Fire is one of the most dangerous things for a ship. The Freedom’s fire detectors are state of the art, the moment you flick your Bic the detectors will go off.” Rose explained. “What’s the object?” 

“The figurehead on deck four between the casino and the Crypt.” Sam injected.

“There’s a service elevator near the Schooner bar. I can get you on that so no one sees you.” Rose said thinking about how to light up the figurehead, when suddenly she had an epiphany. “The incinerator on deck one.” She said smiling. 

“This ship has an incinerator?” Sam questioned surprised. 

“Yes, we’re all required to review the waste steam chart. BioReidue, Paper and food waste are incinerated.” Rose explained. “I have an access card for the service elevator. When are we doing this?”

Sam and Dean looked at each other. Sam shook his head, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be there.” 

Rose gave them a look of stubborn determination. “If you want my card, then I’m coming with you. We’ll be in Cozumel until 7PM tonight so most of the passengers will be off the ship. The shift changes at 3PM today, that’s the best time to do it.” Rose explained with her arms folded over her chest.

The boys looked at each other then back at Rose. Dean nodded reluctantly at Sam who said, “Fine, can you meet us on deck four at 2:30PM.” Rose agreed with an excited smile before going back to work. 

“Bringing her along isn’t a good idea.” Dean said.

“I don’t think you should come along either. I can handle it on my own.” Sam said knowing the resistance he was going to get.

“Not an option Sammy, I’m coming.” Dean said allowing no room for disagreement.

Sam gave a resigned sigh and replied, “Okay let’s get some breakfast I’m starving.” Dean nodded with a bright smile until Sam continued. “No meat for you, only fruit and oatmeal!” 

Dean’s smile turned into a frown then pout as he followed his little brother to the elevators for breakfast. Sam and Dean didn’t notice their exchange with Rose was being watched by a silent member of the security staff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mi corazón mi amor mi Maria means my heart, my love, my Maria. I couldn’t resist a bit of bathroom humor. Hope you guys don’t mind. By the way that figurehead is onboard the Freedom, it’s now I got the idea for this story. I got no clue what BioReidue is; I was looking at a chart of how things are disposed of on Royal Caribbean’s cruise ships. I wanted to be sure the ship had an incinerator. You really can find anything on the internet. lol


	10. Welcome to Cozumel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cruise ship stops in Cozumel, Mexico. Sam and Dean plan how to destroy the figurehead with a little help from a friend.

The security guard narrowed his eyes as he watched the boys hit the button for the elevator. Instead of watching Rose he decided to follow Sam and Dean at a safe distance. He noticed Dean wince in pain whenever Sam's gaze was distracted. Clearly the oldest brother was in more pain then he let on. Since they were only going to the Jade Restaurant for the breakfast buffet the guard saw no reason to continue following them. He had been watching Rose since the staff party; when she had covered for the ghost. There was more to her than met the eye and the guard intended to find out what. Just then his radio alerted him to a disturbance in the casino and he left the boys to their breakfast.

Dean whined as he ate the oatmeal watching the other passengers pass; their plates loaded down with bacon and sausage. "Come on Sammy just a little bit of meat. I promise I'll eat the damn oatmeal." Dean bargained.

Sam was getting a headache from Dean's constant nagging. "Fine, you can have one type of meat only." he replied firmly.

Dean smiled leaning on his walking stick as he quickly headed for the buffet before Sam could change his mind. He passed the bacon, sausage and ham heading instead to his new favorite meat, Morcilla. Ever since Mirko Filipovic had turned him on to the black sausage; Dean couldn't get enough of it. He barely resisted the urge to overload his plate with the aromatic Morcilla. He started to head back to the table, but had to stop as a wave of dizziness hit him. He felt a rush of lightheadedness, like when an elevator drops suddenly. He fixed his eyes to a spot in the distance waiting for the world to right itself. As he was regaining his balance the rude lady from Labadee pushed her way passed him in her hurry to get some bacon almost causing him to drop his plate. He did some quick maneuvers to balance himself and his plate. In the process of reaching the bacon she had bumped his severely bruised stomach causing a jolt of white hot agony to shoot through his body. By the time he was able to catch his breath and steady his plate she was gone without a word of apology. He shot a glare at her retreating back.

Finally he was able to hobble back to the table. Sam looked up as Dean approached and noticed his pale face. He quickly got up and took Dean's plate to help him. For once Dean didn't complain or pull away which concerned Sam more. He wordlessly pulled out the bottle of Tylenol with codeine and dropped a couple of pills in Dean's hand. Who dry swallowed the pills gratefully. Sam didn't say anything more but instead continued to eat his breakfast. Dean closed his eyes for a couple of minutes as the pain got back under control and he was able to eat this oatmeal and fruit. He would never admit it to Sam but he was right, the pink grapefruit was much better than the regular yellow grapefruit.

After the about fifteen minutes of eating in silence Sam cleared his throat to get Dean's attention. "I don't think you should come to the salt and burn. You're clearly still in pain and unsteady on your feet." Sam explained quickly before he could be interrupted, but Dean was already shaking his head.

"No way! I'm not leaving you to handle this with just Rose as back up. Besides you need me to set the security cameras on a five minute loop. I need to set up two loops. Zone one is from the figurehead to schooner bar then you move into zone two from the staff stairwell down to the sub-basement on deck one where the incinerator is. The timing is very tricky if it's not done just right the security monitors with see us and the jig is up." Dean insisted obstinately.

"You got winded and pale just getting some breakfast. How are you going to fight off the ghost and burn a cursed object without passing out?"

"I'm not gonna pass out, I'm fine now. I'll take some pain pills before we go and I'll be fine. Do you know how to disarm the alarms attached to the figurehead?" Dean questioned in an attempt to change the subject.

Sam gave a huff before going into detail about how the alarm worked and the different ways to disarm them. Dean sighed in relief and dug into his Morcilla enjoying the tangy taste on his tongue. After breakfast they could see the ship was docked in Cozumel. They walked to the Lido deck near the pool for their first glimpse of Cozumel. The humidity was much higher here than in Labadee or Jamaica. They could feel the sweat forming on their bodies and sliding down their spine under their clothes.

The boys stared amazed at the bright blue Caribbean Sea. Across from the Freedom of the Seas they saw another cruise ship. This one had a distinctive funnel, mainly red with a strip of blue and a strip of white. Dean could read the ship's name as the Carnival Magic and see the steady stream of people leaving the ship. Some of the people were following a man with a sign announcing a tour to some place called the Coba Ruins. On the lido deck they could hear the happy chitchatting of the passengers preparing to go ashore.

Among the happy passengers were two male cruisers in their forties bitching about the fact the ship had diverted from Grand Cayman. "I don't know why we couldn't tender. The ocean doesn't look that rough." said the older of the men adjusting his Yankees baseball hat over his balding head.

The other man scratched across his beard in agreement, "The captain's a wussy. So what if some of these old bitties can't make it. If they couldn't tender they shouldn't have been allowed on the ship." Their whining continued incessantly as they moved down the deck. Dean turned to Sam and mouthed 'wow' Sam nodded his head in agreement.

"We got a couple of hours to kill; do you feel like going ashore?" Dean asked.

"Sure, but no ocean for you remember what the doctor said." Sam advised his brother.

"Yeah, Yeah I promise to sit on a chair and sweat my balls off. Happy?" came Dean's surly reply.

"Ecstatic." Sam deadpanned as they went down to Deck two to exit the ship.

As they were heading off the ship, they heard someone calling them. It was Andro and Mirko, "They let you have time off?" Dean asked Andro.

"Yup, we're are going over to Paradise Beach. What are you fellas up to today?" Andro asked.

Sam and Dean looked at each other and realized they no idea what they were going to do. Sam looked embarrassed as he admitted, "We got no clue." Dean nodded in agreement.

"Well we can share a taxi over to Paradise beach. It's really a beautiful beach. Clean bathrooms, very important in Mexico, plus they don't charge for toilet paper." Andro assured with a laugh.

That caused Dean to look over in shock, "they charge for toilet paper."

Mirko laughed at his shocked look, "First time I was here it didn't realize it. I went in without buying toilet paper, it was not good. I was yelling for 20 minutes before a local came in and charged me $5 dollars for 10 squares of toilet paper and boy was I grateful." Dean, Sam and Andro were cracking up picturing the big man trapped on the toilet begging for TP.

They caught a taxi and had another harrowing cab ride to the beach. They split the $25 cab fare and were soon at the Paradise Beach Cozumel Restaurant Bar were they paid for lounges in a roped off area that was covered with an awning from the sun. Sam ordered a five beer bucket of El Sol. Since Dean couldn't drink Sam offered to get him a virgin strawberry daiquiri. This got quite a colorful hand gesture from his annoyed brother, so Sam simply ordered him a Pepsi. The fact Dean couldn't drink prompted Mirko to ask about his injury. Andro had heard the story through the cruise staff grapevine, but was interested in a firsthand account.

Dean seemed reluctant to talk about, "I was doing some shopping in Montego Bay when I heard a scream from the alley. I went to see what was going on and saw Althea and Daevon in trouble, so I helped them. One of the bastards got in a lucky punch." Dean finished with a shrug and a sip of his Pepsi amazed at the great taste. "Dude this Pepsi is amazing." Dean said in surprise.

"Oh yeah that's the Mexican Pepsi, it's much better than the Pepsi from the USA." Andro explained.

"Why's it better?" Dean asked curiosity.

"Pepsi in America is made with high fructose corn syrup. Mexican soda uses real cane sugar." Andro said as Dean took another satisfying sip.

"It even feels better on my tongue." Dean said with a sigh. Soon Andro and Sam left Dean and Mirko crossing the soft white sand beach quickly to avoid burning their toes so they could enjoy the calm bright blue ocean.

Mirko turned to Dean and asked, "What do you fight?"

Dean looked confused and replied, "huh?"

"My nickname is Cro Cop, I got that name because I'm a part of the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit. It's Croatia's version of your Special Forces. You held your own against me in the ring like a professional. I've also seen your brother fight. No one trains like that for a hobby." Mirko questioned and waited the long silence for Dean's reply.

Dean was stumped how to answer, he knew the truth would make Mirko question his sanity. Mirko finally broke the silence with another question. "How many men did you fight in Montego Bay?"

"Four." Was Dean's answer.

"Were you armed?" Mirko asked

Dean pulled out his small silver knife to show Mirko, "I had this knife."

Mirko expression changed to a knowing smile when he saw the knife. "You are a natprirodan lovac." Dean gave him a blank look.

Mirko has a pensive expression as if searching for the correct words, then his face brightened as the words came to him. "You hunt the supernatural. That knife is silver."

Dean looked over surprised, but gave up trying to deny it. "Okay, yes, me and my brother fight supernatural creatures."

"My older brother Montavious is natprirodan lovac. He is a hero." Mirko said with pride in his voice. "What are you hunting on the ship? Or is this vacation?"

Dean gazed over to the blue ocean wistfully "ghost."

Mirko saw followed his gaze, "why don't you take a swim?"  
"Doctor's orders, no ocean and no alcohol." Dean said bitterly giving the remaining three bottles of ice cold El Sol a dirty look.  
"So don't swim just wade in the water a bit." Mirko replied with a sneaky smirk. Dean returned the smile and abandoned his walking stick heading for the ocean. He was in the ocean a total of five minutes before he saw Sam heading his way with a stern expression on his face. Before Sam could reach him Mirko crossed his path and engaged him in conversation. Sam's need to be polite fought with his protective urge to get his brother's ass back into the lounge chair. Dean knew what Mirko was doing and had to give the big guy credit. He had Sam engaged for a good ten minutes before Sam could politely pull away. Mirko gave Dean a salute before splashing Andro in the face with ocean water. Starting a water fight.  
"You're not supposed to leave the chair!" Sam accused.  
"I'm not even swimming I'm just enjoying the cool water. I'll be fine." Dean stated firmly. Sam wanted to argue more, but Dean started walking away from him deeper into the ocean.  
Sam followed insisting on getting him back on the beach. Dean gave Sam a look of exasperation and stated, "The more you follow me the deeper I'll go into the ocean. Just let me float out here ten more minutes then I promise back on the beach I will go. Deal?"  
"Fine deal, but only ten more minutes, we'll need to head back to the ship soon anyway." Sam compromised. Sam decided to head back to the beach for another beer.  
As Dean was enjoying floating on his back in the ocean he heard his name being called. He quickly jerked out of his back float and into standing position surprising a wide eyed Mindy with the speed and grace of his movement. Her eyes were also attracted to the large yellow and purple bruise on his left side of his stomach. "Are you all right?" Mindy asked in a concerned voice.  
Dean followed her eye line to the bruise on his stomach and was feeling self-conscience all of the sudden. "Yeah I'm fine just an issue in Jamaica. It looks worse than it feels."  
"Jamaica can be a dangerous place, I'm glad you're alright." Mindy said in a sincere voice.  
Feeling the need for a change of topic Dean replied, "So what can I help you with?"  
The question caused all kinds of dirty thoughts to form in Mindy's head, but she brushed them away to give a serious answer. "I'm worried about Sheila. What happened between her and Sam? She hasn't been the same carefree person since formal night."  
Dean sighed and explained, "On formal night Sam hid from her behind a pole and it hurt her feelings."  
"Why did he do that? He was all over her before dinner calling her gorgeous and petting her hair. She really loved it and was looking forward to spending more time with him. Why do all that if he wasn't interested?" Mindy asked looking totally confused and turned her concerned eyes to her friend.  
Dean followed Mindy's gaze and saw Sheila. He didn't know her well, but in the past she really went overboard to get attention. The Sheila in the lounge chair wasn't the same person. She was wearing a cover up over her swimsuit, a big flopping hat and sunglasses. Her nose was buried in a book and when one of the hot young twenty year old males passed by her chair she seemed to curl up farther to avoid attracting his attention. Dean frowned in dismay that something as stupid as what Sam did should affect her so badly.  
Dean tried to explain Sam's behavior knowing his brother would never want to hurt someone this way. "He was pretty drunk before dinner; you know that. He gets overly affectionate when he's drunk. I'm sure he didn't mean to lead her on."  
Mindy nodded her understanding, "I wish I knew how to break her out of the depression. I know she goes over board at times, but she is really an amazing person. She's one of the smartest people I know. She has an eidetic memory and is an expert in her field. We met at the business woman's mixer in New York and became fast friends. We take this trip once a year to unwind."  
"What's an eidetic memory?" Dean asked surprised to hear how smart Sheila was.  
"Most people would call it a photographic memory. She remembers about 90% of what she sees. Her IQ was tested at 180." Mindy said proud of her friend. "Guys don't like it so she puts on this sex kitten act."  
"She shouldn't do that with Sam. My baby brother got a full ride to Stanford and studied to become a lawyer. He would respect her intelligence more than the sex kitten act."  
"Wow, it's a shame she didn't do that. Thank you for talking to me. I'll let you get back to your floating." Mindy said with a smile as she swam off.  
True to his word Dean enjoyed the ocean another ten minutes then headed back to the lounge chair, flirting with the waitress on the way back. "Hey Sammy, is a 180 IQ good?" Dean didn't want Mindy to know he had no idea about IQ scores.  
Sam affirmed what Mindy had said, "Anything over 160 is considered genius. Why do you ask? Do you know someone with a 180 IQ?"  
Dean bluffed "On Dr. Sexy one of the doctors claimed to have a 180 IQ and I was wondering if that was good."  
Sam accepted that excuse and they enjoyed lunch at the beach club. Dean ordered the taco plate that had three Carne Asada tacos, Mexican rice and beans. Sam got the Cajun chicken salad which had large hunks of creamy avocado and fresh cilantro. After they knocked back lunch, Sam offered the remaining two beers to Andro and Mirko who gladly accepted them. The boys had another hair raising cab ride back to the ship.  
Even though a shower seemed silly when they were about to burn the figurehead and face a pissed off ghost who would no doubt get them dirty again, Dean still felt he needed one since there was sand stuck in crevasses he didn't want to think about. Dean was feeling much better with the dip in the ocean and the relaxing morning and afternoon. His dizziness was just about gone and his stomach only hurt if someone bumped it. Otherwise he felt right as rain and raring to get some payback on Casper the seafaring ghost. Sam was also feeling uncomfortable from the sneaky shifting sand. Twenty minutes with the handheld shower head and he was able to unblock the beach out of his important areas; which was a relief because he thought in about five more minutes his ass would have turned those gritty grains of sand into tiny pearls. After both boys finished their de-beaching Sam grabbed his laptop and they went to meet Rose.  
2:30 PM had the boys greeting a nervously smiling Rose. "We ready?" She asked.  
"Do you have the laundry tub?" Dean asked.  
"Since the Crypt isn't open right now I stashed it there until we're ready." Rose explained.  
Ever inquisitive Sam asked. "What the Crypt?" Dean wouldn't admit it but he was wondering to, because it was pretty creepy looking room.  
"That's the Disco and bar; since all the vampire stuff is so hot right now the ship's designer used that as a theme." Rose said.  
"They aren't vampires, man. They're douche bags." Dean insisted.  
Sam ignored his brother as he pulled Rose's necklace from his pocket. "Thank you for letting me borrow it. We really need to get one of those." Sam said with a smile.  
"I'm happy to help, especially after Dean helped Althea and Daevon, I should be thanking you guys." She replied.  
Dean got embarrassed at the compliment and wanted to get on with the hunt, so he set up the laptop and turned away so Sam couldn't see what he was doing. Sam tried to be subtle as he moved closer hoping to see how Dean was accessing and looping the cameras.  
"Move it Sammy, you're blocking my light." Dean said with amusement lacing his voice.  
Sam grudgingly moved away but replied, "Its Sam." Another five minutes of keystrokes and Dean had zone one on a loop, he then reprogramed the security's computer code to delay the loop of zone two to start 10 seconds before zone one was completed. The 10 second overlap would allow them to get from one zone to that other without being seen. The laptop would make a beeping sound 30 seconds before the zone two loop ended and the cameras became live again. Once Dean gave the go ahead, Sam started to work on the figurehead's wires, while Rose rushed over to the crypt to retrieve the laundry cart. She had sheets in the tub to throw over the figurehead. As Rose predicted, since it was a long day in Cozumel, no one was around to see Sam work on the wires and lift the figurehead off the wall.  
They gently placed the figurehead into the cart surprised the ghost hadn't made an appearance. They figured the ghost knew it couldn't get past Rose's necklace so it was laying low. They rolled the cart up to the door by the Schooner bar and watched for the 10 second overlap in the loops. Once the overlap occurred they quickly opened the door and made it to the next zone. Rose led the way to the elevator punching the button, and then stepped aside for the boys to enter the elevator with the cart. Just as both boys and the cart were in the elevator the air got ice cold and the doors slammed shut locking Rose and her necklace outside.  
"Sonofabitch." Dean murmured as the door shut. Now they were trapped in a metal box with a large cart hampering their movements. Sam and Dean stood back to back with their walking sticks at the ready, but the ghost didn't manifest.  
Instead they heard it whisper, "Mi corazón." The sheet was moved, by invisible hands, off the figurehead. Dean slashed at the air near the sheet, but only met air.  
As the elevator continued to deck one the figurehead was being moved to a standing position and they heard the whispered words. "Mi bella María te he echado de menos. Voy a encontrar a nuestro hijo."  
The boys were thwarted in their attempts to hit the ghost because he wasn't moving the items with his hands, but controlling them with his mind, so he didn't need to be near the figurehead to move it. The air dipped another ten degrees before the elevator doors opened and the ghost shouted. "¿dónde está mi hijo." Sam felt himself being lifted off his feet and had a moment to wonder if this is what it feels like to fly before he hit the unforgiving wall. Luckily, years of being thrown into walls taught both boys how to protect their bodies when the inevitable happened and some supernatural baddie tossed them into a solid object.  
Dean grabbed the figurehead out of its standing position and shoved it back under the sheets while quickly rolling the cart out of the elevator and yelling at the ghost. "Leave my brother alone you cabron."  
Sam was stunned to hear Spanish spoken by his brother. He stumbled back to his feet as the ghost's anger overtook it because of Dean's Spanish words. All that angry energy coming off the ghost in waves made him unable to stay invisible and he manifested right in front of the cart Dean was rolling. The ghost pushed the cart pinning Dean against the elevator doors causing him to drop his walking stick. Sam had a firm grip on his walking stick with his owl aimed at the ghost's head, but before he could connect the ghost disappeared again. The only sound that could be heard was the boys heavy breathing. Now that the ghost was gone Dean was able to free himself from between the cart and the wall.  
Looking out onto the deck's long hallway, Sam was disappointed to see most of the doors were only numbered or had no markings at all. "Which door do you think it is?" He asked Dean nodding his head towards the many doors.  
Rose was supposed to take them to the incinerator. Dean rubbed the bridge of his nose in thought and finally gave up, "I got no clue. Let's just start opening doors and look for it." They opened the first door to reveal several industrial sized washers and dryers. The next one showed part of the ship's diesel engines.  
As Dean was reaching for a third door the chill came back into the air and the ghost manifested next to Dean's left ear. He screamed into Dean's ear. "Usted no me va a impedir que mi hijo bastardo." Sam got in a clean hit through its head with his owl and the ghost disappeared.  
"Dude! Turn down the volume." Dean said to the now missing ghost, as he tried to shake hearing back into his ear.  
The fifth door finally revealed the incinerator just as the laptop signaled the 30 second warning beep. "We need to hurry." Sam said urgently. Dean grabbed the figurehead and while approaching the incinerator, salted Maria's beautiful face. Sam worked the control panel, setting the incinerator for plastic, knowing the fire would burn hotter to burn not only the plastic but any toxic gases released by the fire.  
Dean grasped the red incinerator door handle and pulled down as the air got cold again and his breath became visible. He felt something or someone trying to pull the figurehead away from him. The ghost manifested in an attempt to shock him into dropping Maria. But Dean refused to give her up; his hand had a firm grip on her waist. The incinerator opened and Dean quickly tossed Maria in watching as the flames licked at her wavy brown hair. Don Antonio shrieked in pain and disappeared just as Sam's laptop beeped to alert them the cameras were now live. Both boys ducked out of camera view as Dean reprogrammed another five minute loop. They walked the cart back to the door with the washers and dryers and left it with the other carts.  
As they entered the elevator Sam turned to Dean and asked, "What does cabron mean?"  
Dean's smile got wide as he replied, "Asshole."  
"Where the hell did you learn Spanish?" Sam asked while laughing.  
"Well you see, there was this girl." Dean said before Sam interrupted him with an eye roll.  
"Never mind." Sam said as the elevator doors opened to reveal a worried looking Rose.  
Up in the booth the security guard noticed the security cameras hitch and saw Sam and Dean briefly on deck one at the incinerator. He smiled as the image disappeared again. Flipping to the zone one cameras he viewed the empty space where the figurehead had been and started whistling a happy tune.  
After finishing reassuring Rose that everything was fine they parted ways. The boys still had two hours to kill before dinner. Dean was feeling tired from the salt and burn and the after effects of his pain pills, so he decided to go back to the cabin for a short nap before dinner.  
Now that the job was done and they were officially on vacation! Sam headed to the shore excursion desk. He had some questions about Grand Cayman. An hour later all his questions were answered and his tickets purchased. They would be delivered to the cabin later that night. Sam took the stairs back to the cabin to prepare for dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mi bella María te he echado de menos. Voy a encontrar a nuestro hijo means My beautiful Maria I have missed you. I will find our son. 
> 
> Usted no me va a impedir que mi hijo bastardomeansYou will not keep me from my son you bastard. If the Google translator is working right.


	11. Enjoying the cruise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have another dining room dinner. Can the cabin toilet can the abuse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for comments and kudos I hope this story makes you smile.

The door to the cabin was a bit heavier than Sam expected and slipped from his grip to slam shut with a resounding boom. Dean was startled awake and Sam soon found himself staring at the pointy end of Dean’s silver knife. 

Sam laughed, “Seriously Dean why not just attack me with a butter knife.” 

“Dude you woke me up.” Dean grumbled.

“Sorry the door is heavy.” Sam said lamely while Dean gave him a look with a smartass comment was imminent Sam continued before he could reply. “It’s time to get ready for dinner away.” 

Dean suddenly forgot all about teasing his brother at the mention of food. “Check this out.” Dean said excitedly flipping on the television, using the remote to going into their bill. He added his folio number listed on the sail and sign card and putting in the number all the sudden the full dinner menu was listed on the TV with Dean smiling proudly. 

“Wow that is cool. I wonder what Thai lemon grass soup tastes like.” Sam asked impressed. 

“I don’t know but those grill pork chops are calling my name on the wind.” Dean said with a smile. 

“I thought you were going to cut down on the meat consumption?” Sam questioned.

“No worries Melinda hooked me up.” Dean smiled tossing Sam a bottle of stool softener. “The toilet got clogged she figured what happened. She warned me about putting anymore bulky items in there and handed me the bottle.” Dean said completed unashamed that the hot cabin steward had to fix the toilet. Sam can’t help but smile especially when Dean looked at him at said. “Did you hear that.” Sam stand listening, then Dean started whispering.

“Dean….. Dean…… Dean…… it’s me the pork chops. Eat me. I want to you eat me I’m so tasty I promise not to hurt you Dean.” Dean said near Sam’s ear. 

Sam laughing pushed his brother away. “You’re an idiot. You know that right.”

“Come on I’m in a good mood. We put down the ghost and we still have two full days of cruising fun. I’m taking advantage of every minute. Come on you know you watched the love boat every Saturday night on ABC and how we are on an episode.” Then he started to sing the theme song Sam couldn’t resist joining in. Melinda and Serena were passing with the laundry but stopped when they heard the loud singing through the door.

“Love, exciting and new   
Come Aboard. We're expecting you.   
Love, life's sweetest reward.   
Let it flow, it floats back to you. 

 

Love Boat soon will be making another run   
The Love Boat promises something for everyone   
Set a course for adventure,   
Your mind on a new romance. 

 

Love won't hurt anymore   
It's an open smile on a friendly shore.   
Yes LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! (hey-ah!)”

 

Melinda and Serena erupted into laughter. “When what they lack in talent they make up for in enthusiasm.” Melinda smirked. 

 

Suddenly the door opened surprising the girls. Dean still singing loudly started doing an impromptu tango. Sam not to be out done grabbed Serena and followed suit. The other cruisers in the narrow hallway moved out of the way to watch the show. When the boys finished they dipped both ladies low. The ladies squealed in delight while holding on tight to not fall. A round of applause was heard throughout the hallway. Dean bowed low to Melinda and kissed her hand as if they were both in full formal wear. 

 

“Thank you milady for the dance.” Dean reply

 

Sam gave Serena a full dimpled smile, “It was truly my pleasure.” He said to Serena as he walked away she gave his ass a nice pinch. Dean walked over to her turn his ass for his pinch as they went back to the cabin to change for dinner. 

 

“You are so lucky.” Serena said with a smile. 

 

“I’m not so sure you didn’t have to clean that toilet.” Melinda said making a face that had Serena laughing.

 

“I don’t know they sleep shirtless, maybe even naked. It’s worth a nasty toilet.” Serena replied. “But hey if you want to change I got an eighty year old couple on deck five they didn’t have the do not disturb sign out. I opened the door and they are making serious sexy time. Something’s you just can’t un see.” Serena said sadly. Melinda was laughing as Serena continued “It wouldn’t have been too bad excepted she had him in a dog collar and leash and was calling his a bad boy.” That was it Melinda was speechless with tears running down her cheeks. They reluctantly when back to work with smiles on their faces. 

 

The boys were glad tonight wasn’t formal night as they dressed in comfortable black stacks and button down shirts. Dean’s shirt was a dark grey and Sam insisted his shirt was melon, but Dean knew pink when he saw it. Still smiling and teasing his brother Dean headed for the stairs, relieved Sam wasn’t still making him use the elevator, because they were so damn slow. They were early when they got to the dining room and there was a crowd of people waiting for the doors to open. Sam saw Sheila look up as he entered and quickly turned her gaze away, his stomach dropped feeling guilty. Seeing the interaction Dean decided he had to told Sam what Mindy had said. Especially after Mindy gave Dean a sad smile, he felt like his little brother and broken team cougar and the ship’s male population would suffer the loss. 

Dean took his brother aside and explained things. Sam looked to Sheila and notice for the first time she was wearing a shawl to cover up her dresses cleavage and she wasn’t just avoiding his eyes she was avoiding all male attention. It was strange to see how withdrawn this normally outgoing woman was. They still had a good ten minutes before dinner so Sam made his way over to Sheila. 

“Hi Sheila could I talk to you a minute.” Sam asked nervously. She looked up surprised but gave a head nod of agreement and followed him to a quiet corner.

“I want to apologize to you. I was really drunk on formal night had I acted like an idiot petting your hair. Than later after I sobered up I was afraid you mistook my behavior and instead of being a mature adult I hidden behind a pole.” Sam explained trying to catch her downturned eyes.

“It’s okay Sam. I just I don’t understand.” Sheila said.

So Sam started to explain but Sheila interrupted him. “No not what happened with you. I don’t understand men.” She admitted looking lost and confused. 

“What don’t you understand about us.” Sam asked.

“What you want women to be like? I work out six times a week, wax all my body hair, and that is damn painfully. I torture my feet into ridiculously high Jimmy Choo shoes to make myself desirable. I laugh at your stupid jokes; pretend I don’t understand how to do something obvious so I won’t seem to smart but it’s not good enough.” Sheila rambled on in defeat.

“Why can’t you just be yourself?” Sam asked totally confused. 

Sheila uttered a bitter laugh, “I have an eidetic memory so in school I learned things ten times faster than anyone else in the class. Teachers would call on me even when my hand wasn’t raised because they wanted to see my memory trick. The boys hated me for being smarter than them and the girls hated me because I was a natural D cup in eighth grade. I was a freak too smart for the jocks and too pretty for the nerds. Do you know what’s it’s like to be a freak?” 

Realization suddenly dawned on Sam, “Your IQ is 180 isn’t it.” Sheila looked shocked at that.

“How did you know that?” Sheila asked.

“Dean was talking to Mindy then he asked me if 180 were high for an IQ.” Sam explained. “I was a freak in high school to. My dad moved us all around the country so I was also the new short kid.”

“You were short.” Sheila said with a genuine laugh. “That’s just hard to picture.” She said mockingly. 

“Ask Dean he’ll delight in telling you I didn’t hit a growth spurt until I was a junior high. Then in two months I went from being the shortest person in the case to towering over everyone.” Sam assured smiling. “So I tried to be normal but it didn’t work. Just like it isn’t working for you. Don’t try and be anyone but who you are, because this right here has been my favorite conversation with you. So what if you’re a freak I’m a freak too so of the best people are freaks.” Than he reached in for a hug that was well received by the now smiling Sheila.

After they pulled away she said. “Okay I’m going to be myself and right now myself is hotter than hell in this stupid shawl.” She flipped it off her shoulders to reveal she was wearing a tight but classic white silk dress with beautiful forest green embroidery across the waist and the v shaped plunging neckline. A small white ribbon served as a belt showing off her hourglass figure to full advantage. Sam’s jaw dropped, she used her index finger to shut his mouth and tossed the white shawl over his shoulders winking and walking away as the doors to the dining room were opened. 

Mindy, who was standing with Dean who had also gone wide eyed at the Prada dress, laughed and said, “Thank god she’s back.” meeting her friend smiling as they walked into the dining room together. 

Sam was follow behind Sheila mainly for the view and started walking the wrong way. When Dean grabbed his arm, “Our tables over here Romeo.” Dean smirk making Sam blind in surprise. 

“Dude she’s a genius a really really hot genius.” Sam said letting himself be lead away as his eyes continued to trail Sheila’s movements. 

“Yup she’s a hot genius, who was all over you. But you screwed it up by hiding behind a pole instead of dancing a tango with her. I can’t even believe we’re brothers.” Dean mocked to Sam’s suddenly sad face. 

Sam didn’t have any more time to lament his serious screw up with Sheila as Nelda greeted than as if they were celebrities. She singled for the maître d who stopped what he was doing greeted the boys.

“My name is Antonio Giovanni, how has experience in that dining room been.” He asked in a thick Italian accent. 

Dean answered easily, “Nelda is the dining room goddess. She is sweeter then an dessert we have tried. And the desserts have been tremendous.” Dean continued turning adoring eyes on Nelda who was blushing five shades of red. Antonio Giovanni was pleased by the compliments since he mainly dealt with the complaints. Antonio had heard the stories going around the ship. Althea was a well-liked member of the staff she mothered them when they were sick and even covered their shifts. That this man had been injuries to protect her said all Antonio needed to know about his character, but to see his charm in action explained why all the female staff members were aflutter.

“Thank you, that is high praise indeed. Nelda is our la bella figura of the dining room.” Antonio said turning admiring eyes on the blushing server who was returning is look with her own admiring eyes.

Dean thought note to self; Nelda is off the market I don’t want to piss off the dude in charge of the kitchen. Another man came over with wine bottle with a fancy bottle of champagne in it.

Antonio smiled at the boy, “We heard about your rescue of Althea in Jamaica and you’re injury and I hope you will accept our sincere thank you and this bottle of champagne for your table.”

Dean rubbed his neck uncomfortable with the attention. “you’re welcome.” Dean said unsure if that was the correct reply.

“I will leave you in the capable hands of Nelda. If you or your brother have any requests please don’t hesitate to ask.” With that Antonio left. 

Dean quickly moved on and greeted the table, “It looks like we have champagne tonight.” All his table mates were in attendance today thanked him for the champagne which seems silly since Antonio had provided it but he went with it anyway.

Waldo caught Sam’s attention. “Were you able to handle that problem we’re discussing at the casino?” 

Sam was appreciative that Waldo phased his question so carefully. 

“Yes I was able to. My brother and I took care of it this afternoon.” Sam reassured a relieved looking Waldo. 

Trudy smiled not having a clue what they were really discussing. “you ran into Waldo at the casino he is the master at craps. Tell em how much you won today.” 

Waldo laughed, “I did really well today and pulled $5,000 from the table and that is my last gambling of this cruise. You got quit while you’re ahead.” He happily said to the amazed table. 

June was interested in learning craps and engaged Waldo into a breakdown of the game. As the champagne flowed the table got louder and more relaxed. Dean took one of his stool softeners before digging into his juicy pork chops with a Cranberry- apple relish and creamy scalloped potatoes. Sam gave the thai lemongrass soup a try and really enjoyed it. He had the Orange Lime Salmon has his main dish, he control the urge to lick the sauce off that plate as that was considered bad matters. His salmon was served with baby bok choy and tomato chili compote. He had never tried “compote” before. Surprisingly enough they didn’t serve that at the drive ins and diners he and Dean usually got their meals. 

The dessert menu had all the diners mouths drooling. How can you decide between Black Forest Mousse and baked Alaska? Dean couldn’t so he had one of each. Sam went for the Dulce de Leche Cheesecake it had just the right hint of coffee favor. Sam was eyeballing Dean’s Black Forest Mousse the dark chocolate mousse made the brandied cherries stand out looking so tasty. So while Dean was distracted pouring Sandy another glass of champagne Sam dipped his spoon into Dean’s dessert. Kayla’s musical laugh followed his action alarming Dean to the theft. 

“Dude that’s my dessert if you want one you shouldn’t have ordered it.” Dean said in mock anger grasping his dessert away from his brother protectively. After Sam’s taste he really did want one of his own. He gave Nelda is best sad puppy eyes asking if it was too late to order one. Nelda was unable and unwilling to resist so Sam was soon enjoying his own Black Forest Mousse. Dean did snag a large hunk of his cheesecake for revenge. 

Sandy looked at the boys. “We have quest tonight are you guys going?” 

“What’s quest?” Sam asked.

June and Sandy exchanged a secret smile and in unison said, “We can’t tell you that.” 

Now Dean was intrigued, “Why not?”

June explained, “It’s a cruiser traditional that no one explains quest to new cruisers they have to experience it on their own. Trust me you want to see this.” June said laughing. 

Sam and Dean exchanged a questioning look but shrugged, “I guess we’re in.” Dean said smiling. 

“Well let’s go it starts in twenty minutes and I want good seating.” June said. 

As they were walking out Sam couldn’t have sworn he heard Sandy said to June. “I’m so glad I wore my front hook bra tonight.” 

“I did to.” Was June’s reply.


	12. Quest with Sam and Dean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean learn about a cruise game called quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting my computer hard drive stopped working. So I had to get it changed and extract the chapters from the corrupted drive. It was no fun. My future updates should be once a week for here on out. Thank you to everyone reading, kudos and comments. They make my day.

Once again the boys found themselves at the ice rink only as with the crew party the rink was covered with a floor. Rose and Gavin stood in the middle preparing for the game. Rose saw the boys enter and gave them a wave and a smile. Sandy and June guided the boys to seats up front. Dean didn’t like the seats being so out in the open but tried to ignore his hunter instincts to protect his back. Dean started getting anxious as they waited for the game to start. He had the feeling that someone was watching him. He looked over to Sam who was entertaining the ladies with amusing stories. Dean tried to look relaxed as he looked around. His eyes didn’t see any strange behavior, just a security guard in the back of the room and the guard wasn’t even looking at him as he was checking IDs to make certain everyone was over eighteen. The feeling of being watched went away as Rose stepped out to the microphone to get the game started.

First she made certain the room was cleared of any children. Then she requested male volunteers for the five different teams. Dean saw ‘Where’s the beef’ guy from the world’s sexiest man contest still sporting his mullet wig. Two other men were quickly chosen. But Rose seemed to be lacking volunteers for the final two spots. Her eyes laser focused on Sam and Dean sitting near the front. 

“Well since we need two more males why not the two males from the world’s sexiest man contest?” Rose announced in a delighted voice. 

All of a sudden a spot light shot around hitting Sam and Dean square in the face. They were greeted by whistles and applause. They tried shaking their heads no but Gavin was already leading them to the floor. The men spread out and each team got four female team members. After all the ‘volunteers’ were selected Rose explained that the game was an adult scavenger hunt. They could go to any of the audience members for their items. The five men were the team leaders. The game started off easily enough. The first item was a copper engraving of Abraham Lincoln. The ladies quickly got the pennies from the crowd. Next was a tube of lipstick, eye shadow, handbag, high heeled shoes, and earrings. The boys didn’t have to do much but watch their team members scurry around tripping over each other to secure items quickly. 

The first complicated item was a ladies bra. Sam now understood Sandy’s comments and ran over to the ladies. Dean also decided this was an item he would like to collect himself and followed his brother. Sam had just received his bra from June when Dean was smacked in the face by Sandy’s large D cup front hook red and black lacey double barreled slingshot. 

The next request was for a skirt. Sadly, Sandy and June were both wearing pants. Sheila and Mindy had a moment of inspiration reaching under their dresses and removing their slips. Oddly enough Mindy’s silky black slip was a perfect match to the red and black bra Sandy had provided and Sheila’s cream color slip matched June’s bra which was cream accented with pink flowers. 

Now with all the items secured Dean was wondering how a winner would be chosen and that’s when the other shoe dropped. Well, in this case, it was a 6 inch stiletto that had both guys turning pink in the face. 

Rose walked around each male team leader with an evil smile, which made the boys rethink the whole she’s not a witch thing. “Okay, in order to determine a winner, we need the team members to dress their leaders up in all the items you collected. Make ‘em look pretty for the audience because their vote will decide the winner. I hoped you gentlemen picked a good shade of lipstick because you’ll be wearing it.” 

The crowd burst out in laughter and yells so loud it was lucky they were in the middle of the ocean. “Alright ladies get to work.” Sam and Dean quickly had their shirts removed by the eager women and were pushed into bras. The ladies, tempting as it was, did refrain from removing the boy’s pants and instead the pants were rolled up so their legs would show when the slips were added. Slipping Sam’s feet into the ladies size nine gold glitter heels was proving quite difficult. However, Dean’s small feet fit nicely in his hot pink heels. Dean loudly insisted his small feet didn’t mean everything was small. Sam couldn’t resist laughing at his poor brother; he always hated having small feet.

Dean’s quick reply of, “Laugh it up Sasquatch, you have to walk in those things.” shut Sam up as he realized how difficult a task that would be with half his foot falling out of the shoe.

Next was the red lipstick that made Dean’s lips look even fuller. Sam’s neon orange lipstick clashed with, well, everything in the room. The cruiser bought the outrageous lipstick especially for this game and had no intention of actually wearing it herself. That also went for the green glitter eye shadow currently being applied generously to Dean’s eyelids. 

Sam was lucky to have a soft beige shadow applied to his eyelids. Finally, all the men were dressed. Sam and Dean took a look at each other and couldn’t help laughing at how seriously stupid they looked. Sam pouted his orange lips at Dean, as he fluttered his glittery eyes at Sam. This caused the boys to fall into laughter again along with the audience. But it was the sight of mullet man that made the boys really lose it. This guy was seriously fearless. His beer belly was in full view and the ladies had used red lipstick to write ‘hot man meat’ on it. His team had secured a wonder bra that was showing off his impressive cleavage. However, none of that compared to the fact that his G-string underwear was showing through his white lace slip. Apparently he had no problem removing his pants in public. His eye shadow was a lovely shade of powder blue that should have been discontinued and destroyed sometime after 1980. His lips were encased in hot pink lipstick and he had a substantial amount on his two front teeth. His mullet was still in place but dangling from it were clip on peacock feather earrings. He was luckier than the boys as he was sporting two inch leopard print kitten heels that made walking easy. 

Rose got the five men to line up for the parade. They each had to model their outfits so the audience could decide the winner. Sam was the unfortunate lucky first man to strut his stuff. Dean couldn’t stop laughing watching his now six feet eight inch brother teetering his way across the stage. Rose warned the front row to beware of the falling redwood tree. Sam tried his best to win, blowing kisses to the audience and wiggling his ass in his tight cream colored slip. When he got to Rose he laid a large orange kiss on her cheek to the vast amusement of the audience.

Next up was Dean in his perfectly fitting hot pink heels. He gave his best strut while hitting a blue steel pose for the audience. However, the glitter green eye shadow caused the blue steel look to lose its normal impact. The pose was totally messed up when Dean burst out laughing after getting his heel got caught in his slip. This made him bump into Sam knocking them both to the ground. 

None of that could beat ‘hot man meat’ with his peacock earrings flapping in the breeze. It was the single funniest thing either of the boys had ever seen as he pouted his lips for the crowd. But the final straw was when he got on the ground and started doing the worm across the stage. This action caused his slip to gather around his hips showing off his royal blue G-string and gleaming white buttocks. Once he stood up again streaks of red lipstick marked the floor and the words hot man meat was now smeared up to near his nipples. This was easy to see since his bra had ridden up around his neck. Sam and Dean were still rolling on the ground dissolved into puddles of laughter. Both guys got quite a bit of applause but hot man meat brought the house to it knees and was pronounced the winner. The boys shook his hand and congratulated him on the well-deserved victory and he toasted them with a drink. 

Rose was still wiping off orange lip stick when she came over to the boys. “You should see how pretty you look.” Rose barely stammered out between peals of laughter. 

“I’m sure.” Sam said in mock anger but couldn’t keep a straight face as Dean pouted his lips. 

Rose pulled out a mirror to show the boys what they looked like. Dean gasped in shock at his appearance. “I look like a painted whore.” He remarked. That got Rose laughing again as she relieved him of his handbag, heels, earrings etc. Only his bra and slip remained which Mindy and Sandy came over to retrieve.

“It almost seems like a shame to ask for my slip back.” Mindy said to Sandy who smiled in agreement and replied “He does look precious. Your slip goes perfectly with my bra.” 

“Yes, it does. I’m so glad we coordinated our lingerie.” Mindy said laughing at Dean’s disgusted expression from hearing himself being referred to as precious. He removed Sandy’s bra with ease. 

“You’ve had some experience with that.” Sandy said raising an eyebrow at how effortlessly he removed the bra.

“Not my first time.” Dean winked as he handed the bra back to a laughing Sandy. “Thanks for the loan.” Sandy wished him a good night as she walked over to June. 

Mindy enjoyed watching Dean’s ass wiggle as he shimmied out of her slip. “Thank you for the loan.” Dean smiled his overly red lips causing Mindy to grinning back. 

”Anytime you need to get me out of my slip just say the word.” Mindy jokingly replied. Once she was holding her slip she couldn’t resist giving an exaggerated sigh, batting her eyelashes and saying, “The world’s sexiest man has been in my slip, I shall never wash it again.” 

Dean laughed, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea I was sweating bullets trying to walk in those heels.” That’s when he noticed the rip in the slip. “I’m so sorry I ripped it, the heel got caught. Okay, now there’s a sentence I never thought I would say in my life.”

Mindy waved him off, “No big deal. It’s a cheap slip. It was worth the entertainment of watching you and your brother.” She reassured him causing them both to look over at Sheila and Sam. He was struggling to get her slip off his hips with bright red cheeks and murmurs of apologies. Sheila told him not to worry and asked if he needed help. He nodded his head in relief.

“Thank you for whatever Sam said to Sheila, it really helped.” Mindy said as she turned back to Dean. 

“Sam‘s a good guy. He’s normally very in tune with other people’s feelings. His behavior is really my fault. I got him shit faced. He’s been under a lot of stress and I wanted him to unwind.” Dean explained. Mindy smiled her understanding as Sheila and Sam walked over to them. 

“Hey, Samantha ready to head back to the room? This eye shadow’s beginning to itch.” 

Without missing a beat Sam replied, “After you Deanna.” With that, they waved good bye to Mindy and Sheila and headed out. 

It took a while to get back to the room; they had to keep stopping for people to congratulate them on their performance. Dean rubbed a hand over his face when he saw what he now referred to as ‘the perverted couple.’ First she got video of him at the world’s sexiest man contest and now she was grinning at her husband as they watched the new video from Quest. He was horrified to think of this new video going on YouTube. 

Of course, Melinda was in the hallway when they took their walk of shame back to their cabin. She couldn’t resist teasing them. “Nice makeup, I can’t decide what I like, better the glitter green or the neon orange.” She said laughing as she handed them makeup removal wipes from her cart.

“Melinda, you’re the best. How about a big kiss?” Dean said puckering his very red lips. 

Melinda dodged his lips as he chased her down the hallway. Sam stood grinning at the two of them. Finally Dean caught her and laid a big ole ruby lip print on her cheek. 

Melinda grabbed a package of makeup wipes to remove the print smacking Dean on the ass as he walking into the cabin. He grinned big when he saw today’s towel animal. It appeared to be a towel giraffe sitting in the window seat holding the next day’s cruise compass and two sealed envelopes. 

“What’s in the envelopes?” Dean questioned his brother.

“Open them up and take a look.” Sam replied with a smile.

Dean opened the envelope and stared at this brother in shock. Sam nervously rubbed the back of his neck at Dean’s continued silence. 

“I’m sorry they were out of the sea turtle and Stingray excursion. This one is just a swim with the stingrays, but it should still be fun.” Sam explained.

“This is awesome. How did you know I wanted to do this?” Dean asked still shocked.

“I spotted you at the excursion desk looking at it. Since the ghost was put down, I figured what the heck and booked it. But it’s early tomorrow so we should get some sleep.” Sam said. 

Dean put down the tickets and gave his brother a big hug. After a couple of seconds they broke apart and stared at each other’s made up face blasting into laughter. 

“Dude, we look ridiculous. Where are those makeup wipes?” Dean said as Sam handed him a pack and took a pack for himself. It took quite some time but finally they had removed the makeup and they were ready for bed.

As Dean closed his eyes, he remembered that feeling of being watched and it bothered him, something didn’t feel right. They salted and burned the cursed object so it should be over, but Dean couldn’t shake this bad feeling of being watched. Since Sam wasn’t feeling the same he didn’t want to bring it up and ruin the good mood.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys see Grand Cayman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everyone who is still reading this story. I'm glad you like it.

The alarm went off and Dean was instantly awake, excited about the day. It was a feeling he remembered from the past. The last time he felt like this he was three years old and his mom had explained about Santa Claus. He could hardy sleep that night just waiting to see what Santa had brought him on Christmas morning. He remembered the glittering Christmas tree with colorfully wrapped presents under it, his mom and dad smiling as they watched he open all his presents. His favorite was the Big Wheel his dad gave him. After opening the gifts his mom let him and his dad have her special apple pie for breakfast. He never felt that excited again as, his mom was dead and gone by the following Christmas and was spent in a crap motel room with no presents and no tree at all.

Dean got out of bed and hit the head before Sam had even opened both his eyelids. He looked in the bathroom mirror and noticed green glitter was in his hair and on his cheeks. He must have missed removing some of the eye shadow from last night. He briefly thought about a shower, but discarded the idea since he would be swimming in the ocean later. Why shower now when he would need a one after the excursion? Plus time was short and there was no way in hell he was missing a cruise ship buffet breakfast. He opened the bathroom door to reveal an eager Sam who was doing the pee-pee dance waiting for him to get out. 

Dean dressed quick and sat at the window seat to read the tickets. They were to meet for the tour on the dock by 9:00 for the 9:30 excursion. He checked the cruise compass and the first tenders started at 8:30. It was now 8:00 now so Sam needed to move his ass or they would miss breakfast. At the thought of breakfast Dean’s stomach gave a growl. He patted it and said, “Soon my friend I promise.” Then he yelled at the bathroom door. “Dude, get your ass in gear or I’m leaving without you.” 

Sam poked his head out the door with his tooth brush hanging out of his mouth. “Give me five more minutes.” He mumbled through the toothpaste foam. 

After an excruciating six minutes Sam was ready. They headed to the elevators and Sam hit the button. But Dean was way too antsy to wait and headed to the stairs with Sam trailing behind watching his excited brother with a smile. Finally they were on Deck eleven, the pool deck. Instead of Dean heading to the buffet, like Sam thought, he went to the pool area. The boys got their first view of Grand Cayman and it was breath taking. The ocean was a deep beautiful indigo blue. They could see the white sandy shores along with a large sign that said duty free shopping. Further down the coast line right on the beach was pale yellow and pink houses. 

On the left side they could see the Carnival Magic anchored with its large waterslide on the top deck and the smaller Carnival Destiny to the right side. The double decker tender boats were already taking passengers to the dock from Carnival ships. At the front of their ship was a black pirate ship that had a white row boat hooked up to it. 

Dean poked a wide eyed Sam and said “look it’s the Black Pearl.”

Sam noticed the pirate ship for the first time. “Damn, this place is amazing and thank God it’s not as humid as Cozumel.”

“I know I was sweating my balls off over there.” Dean said in agreement, “Come on the line’s short, let’s check out our beach towels then get breakfast before they start running the tender boats.” 

After getting their beach towels they headed to the overly crowded buffet area. They saw Althea waving them over to a window table she had waiting for them. The boys were appreciative since there were very few empty tables. They thanked Althea who hurried off since it was quite busy. Dean agreed to save the table while Sam got his food. Sam headed to his favorite area to get his fresh fruit and oatmeal. He was happy to see today’s selection included mango, pineapple, banana and watermelon, so he happily loaded his fruit bowl. He also noticed with much relief that there was still a little of his favorite pink grapefruit left but just as he was reaching the grapefruit bowl this lady pushed past him and scooped up all the pink grapefruit leaving without a word of apology. He watched her walk off in complete shock. He was still feeling the shock once he got to the table.

Dean noticed Sam’s face and asked “What happened?” 

“This bitch cut the line and took the last of the pink grapefruit.” Dean was surprised to hear Sam swearing about the lady as he rarely swore.

“Do you see her?” Dean asked wondering if it was the same woman that knocked into him yesterday. Sam pointed the lady out as she pushed her way past for the pastries. Sure enough it was the same lady; well lady would be stretching it. 

“She’s been cutting in front of me the whole cruise.” Dean replied as the woman in question sat at her table and started noisily chewing Sam’s pink grapefruit. If looks could kill she would have dropped dead on the spot. 

“Chill out Sam; we don’t want to get kicked off the ship.” Dean replied as he went to get his own food. He loaded his plate up with Morcilla sausage before heading over to the bacon. He also took some oatmeal and fresh fruit to keep Sam off his back. By the time he got back to the table Sam had settled into his breakfast moving past his anger at the rude line jumping bitch.

They finished their breakfast quickly so they could catch one of the first tenders ashore. Dean was bouncing back and forth in excitement, barely able to wait in line for the tender boat. They watched as the first tender boat filled and pulled away. The second was quickly filling up and as luck would have it, just as they reached the front of the line they were told the boat was filled leaving the boys to wait for the third tender boat. Dean checked his watch constantly and was chewing on his bottom lip in concern. Sam saw this and said, “Calm down, we have plenty of time.” He said in a reassuring tone. 

Dean nodded his head in understanding, but still continued to nervously abuse his lip. At long last they boarded their boat and were headed ashore. The ride over gave them an interesting view of the deep blue ocean. Dean couldn’t stop staring at it; he had never seen anything that stunning before. Aside from a horrible plane ride to Scotland to help Bobby out of his deal with Crowley; the boys had never been out of the county. They certainly hadn’t been on vacation before. As Dean watched the sea he noticed a bottlenose dolphin following alongside their boat. 

“Dude, check it out.” Dean said pointing out the dolphin to Sam. Dean’s words had half the people standing up to see the dolphin. 

“Wow, Flipper is following us.” Sam said smiling as he watched the lone dolphin.

The tender boat captain noticed the excited passengers watching the dolphin announced over the PA system. “If you look over on the port side, that’s the left for all you land lubbers, it appears that Stinky has decided to greet us today. Be careful with Stinky. It’s unusual to see a lone male dolphin. Stinky is a bit well how do I put this…. he’s horny. You should avoid being in the ocean with Stinky.” Dean laughed at the name of the horny dolphin. Stinky continued to follow along to the entertainment of all on board. 

“Poor guy just wants to get a little of that good dolphin lovin’.” Dean said watching as the dolphin snapped his jaws and leaped out of the water putting on an impressive show. “I think he likes you Sammy.” Dean said laughing at Sam’s bitch face. As they got closer to the dock Stinky swam off in pursuit of a mate. 

They were the first ones off the boat once it docked. Sam had to rush in order to keep up with his fast moving brother. Sam almost ran into Dean’s back when he suddenly stopped looking at the crowded mass of people and tour operators. The dock was a disorganized mass of confused people wandering around aimlessly. 

“How the hell are we supposed to know where to go?” Dean asked Sam his brow furrowed in confusion. 

Sam looked around feeling the same confusion as people pushed passed them. He noticed a sign listing the different excursions by tour number. “Follow me.” He said heading for the sign. 

Dean obediently followed; his brother’s height made him easy to pick out when the crowd separated them. Dean stood beside Sam who had the tickets out and was checking them against the sign. That was when Dean noticed the lines of people standing in front of different poles with tour numbers. He was relieved that all they needed to do was to find their number. They boys checked the different signs but none of them matched their tour number. Sam stopped a tour operator to ask where they tour line was. The harassed tour operator pointed him to the sign Sam was just looking at and without a saying a single word the operator took off. “Well he was helpful.” Sam said sarcastically.

They heard their names being called by Waldo, who was once again wearing his ironically red striped shirt. Dean couldn’t help it as he whispered to Sam, “Where’s Waldo?” Despite his irritation, Sam burst out in a fit of laughter. 

They walked over to Waldo and Trudy standing at the back of a long line. “What tour are you guys on?” Waldo asked. Sam passed him the ticket. 

“Oh cool you guys are on the same tour with us. This is the line you want.” Waldo said pointing to a sign that was missing the first digit of the tour number. 

“Thank God. This place is a mess.” Dean said relieved to have found where the heck they were supposed to be. 

Trudy agreed, “They could organize this better. It took us a good fifteen minutes to figure out this was the right line. We walked past it five times because it was missing a number.” 

“Who cares? I’m just happy to being swimming with the stingrays again.” Waldo said with a big smile on his goofy face. “We did this excursion two years ago and it was a lot of fun.” 

“Yea, this is our first time here. I heard this was a blast! I didn’t think we would be doing this but Sammy surprised me with tickets.” Dean said ruffling his brother’s hair, who smacked his hand away. They chatted for a while until the tour operator guided them to the bus that would take them to the boat for the excursion.

The boys’ first shock about Grand Cayman was the fact they drove on the wrong side of the road. Dean’s heart gave a jolt of fear when they made a left turn into the ‘wrong’ lane. He wasn’t the only one because he heard Sam’s gasp of fear before he covered it with a cough. They passed 7-mile beach which was the most breathtaking beach Dean had ever seen even with the quick glimpses between the palm trees. He saw the soft pure white sand beaches leading to the shallow vivid blue ocean. It was difficult to describe this ocean. The blue was unlike any other he had seen before, it was so crystal clear. He watched the tranquil waters in awe of the beauty in front of him. He looked over at Sam and noticed a similar expression of astonished wonderment on his face. 

Waldo was sitting across from them and noticed their expression as they viewed the beach. “That’s 7-mile beach. It’s rated as the best beach in the Caribbean.” Waldo said. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Dean said with reverence in his voice. Waldo smiled as the bus made the final turn to the dock where their boat was waiting.

They guys boarded the double deck boat choosing to go upstairs in the open air instead of inside the lower part of the boat. Waldo and Trudy, who were concerned about the strong Caribbean sun, stayed inside on the lower deck. The boat passed million dollar mansions of pastel pinks, yellows and blues set right up on the narrow strait leading to the open ocean. The water was deeper here and was a darker indigo blue. As they traveled into shallower waters the color of the ocean got a lighter and more brilliant shade blue. 

The tour guide was a friendly and funny man who explained the do’s and don’ts of swimming with the stingrays. He also introduced Jay and Wendy the nature guides who would help them with the stingrays. The biggest piece of advice the captain offered was to not grab a stingray by the tail since that is where the poisonous stinger was. He further explained that the older and larger stingrays would swim near the top of the water, but the baby rays would stay on the ocean floor and to be careful not to step on a baby ray. He stressed the fact that these were wild animals out in the ocean and not a petting zoo. The stingray still had their stingers but wouldn’t attack unless threatened. No water shoes or shoes of any kind were allowed on the sand bar known as Stingray City. The boys slipped off their sandals as they neared Stingray City. 

The ocean was now at its brightest azure blue and Dean could see the dark shapes of the stingrays swimming around the boat. He knew they were at the large sand bar because of the numerous boats anchored in the area. The two nature guides exited down the stairs at the back of the ship to help assist the tour goers into the water. The boys stepped into the soft sand of the bar with the ocean current gently pushing them away from the boat. 

Large kite shaped stingrays swam past them. The smaller younger rays were lighter gray in color with long tails pointed at the end. The larger rays were almost black in color and about three feet across. They showed no fear or aggression as they swam around the boys. Sea birds flew across the clear blue sky squawking at the crowd. 

Soon the guides had caught a willing stingray and people lined up to take pictures with him. Sam and Dean decided to have their pictures taken with the large stingray. Wendy took the pictures as Jim had the stingray ‘kiss’ the boys and give them a massage. Sam was surprised to discover the stingray wasn’t slimy or fishy like he thought it would be; instead it was soft and velvety, feeling good on his bare shoulders. 

After their pictures were completed the boys got some of the small squid to hand feed the stingrays. The captain showed them how to hold the squid, with their thumbs tucked under and the squid sticking out the top of their closed fist so the stingray could suck it out. Dean looked over at Sam who laughed in delight as a large stingray took the squid from his hand. He smiled to see Sam enjoying this excursion as much as he was. He was startled out of this train of thought when a stingray brushed his calf from behind. Sam laughed at his shock. 

“That sucker came out of nowhere.” Dean said laughing at himself. 

“They really are amazing. I thought they would be more aggressive, but they aren’t.” Sam said smiling. 

Waldo and Trudy came over for some squid. Sam showed Trudy how to properly hold the squid. Waldo took this opportunity to talk with Dean without Trudy overhearing him.

“So you guys took care of the ghost?” Waldo asked. 

Yeah, it wasn’t easy but it’s been handled.” Dean explained.

“Is this what you guys do?” Waldo questioned.

“Yeah it is.” Dean supplied without further explanation.

“What made you hunt this ghost and are there others that do this?” Asked Waldo who was inquisitive by nature and couldn’t help questioning the reluctant hunter.

Seeing how much Waldo’s information helped them with the ghost he felt he should explain. “Our dad raised us in this life. He taught us how to fight and protect ourselves from supernatural threats.” As Waldo opened his mouth to question further Dean held up his hand silencing the man. “Yes, there are other hunters and yes there are more than just ghosts out there. But I don’t think you really want to know all the things out there in the dark. Do you?”

Waldo thought over Dean’s words and how truly scared the ghost had made him. He knew he wasn’t a hero; his motto was run, run, run, away and live to fight another day. If backed into a corner he would fight any force earth to protect Trudy. But he wasn’t trained and he definitely didn’t have the physical strength of Sam or Dean. “You’re right; I don’t really want to know.” Waldo easily conceded. “Thank you for what you do.” He said in a sincere tone of voice. Dean just nodded not knowing how to reply. 

Trudy’s laugh of delight caught Waldo’s attention and he waded back to his wife and Sam wandered back to Dean. “What did Waldo want?”

“He wanted to talk about the ghost and make sure it was gone.” Dean reassured his brother. 

To soon the people were loaded back into the boat and heading back to the buses. Dean looked back one final time at the sandbar and the stingrays gliding gracefully across the water. He felt a moment of envy; these creatures lived in splendor and had the freedom to swim these warm waters. Every day more people came to feed them and they were protected. Sam looked over surprised at his brother’s unusual silence. 

“So was it as good as you thought it would be?” Sam asked concerned by his brother’s mood.

“It was even better.” Dean said smiling at his brother. “Thank you Sammy.” 

They went to the lower level of the boat to view the pictures. “Holy crap that stingray is huge! Was he a good kisser” Dean said laughing at the picture of Sam getting a kiss on the lips by the massive stingray.

Sam played along, “He was a bit fishy, and he surprised me when he slipped me the tongue.” Dean laughed at Sam’s joke. “How was your massage?” Sam asked Dean.

“It was great. I’m really glad he didn’t go for the happy ending though.” Dean said as they paid $35 for all the pictures the tour guides had taken. They tipped and thanked the guides for an awesome one of a kind experience. 

The bus was quiet on the ride back to the ship with contented, tired passengers. The boys decided to take the tender back to the ship to shower and change for dinner. Waldo and Trudy did the same and they all shared a boat back to the ship. 

“I’m going to head up to the lido deck and drop off the beach towels.” Waldo said to Trudy as they boarded the ship. 

Dean overheard him and said, “That’s a good idea. I’ll go up with you.” Sam and Trudy handed over their towels as they got off the elevator on deck seven surprised their cabins were on the same deck. 

 

At deck eleven Dean was stopped by Althea who asked how he enjoyed the excursion. Waldo went on ahead. Dean spent an excited five minutes talking about the stingrays and raving about Grand Cayman before he was able to walk out to the pool deck. As soon as he entered the deck he became instantly alert. The temperature on the deck had dropped 20 degrees raising goose bumps on his bare arms and the back of his neck. 

He heard the words, “¿dónde está mi hijo.” before Waldo’s body was lifted and thrown ten feet into the air by an unseen force. He landed with a resounding splash in the pool. 

“Damn it.” Dean said dropping his towels and running towards where Waldo was being held under water by an invisible force. 

Dean grabbed one of the salt shakers off a nearby table and yelled out to the ghost. “Leave him alone!” 

This caused the ghost to manifest in its anger and yell at Dean. “Usted mató a mi corazón, mi María.” 

Dean felt a rush of cold air as the ghost released Waldo to attack him. As the ghost approached he tossed the salt at it and it disappeared. He looked at the pool to see Waldo floating face down. Without another thought he dived into the pool. Others hands helped him to pull Waldo out. Dean felt for a pulse a finding none started CPR pressing on his chest to restart Waldo’s heart. He was surprised to hear a woman’s voice counting out the beats. He saw Mindy puff a breath into Waldo mouth and check his pulse nodding to Dean to continue chest compressions. After three sessions of breaths and chest compressions Waldo’s pulse came back and he coughed water out of his lungs. The medical team was on hand to put him on a gurney to take him to the medical deck. Dean rubbed a weary hand over his face, once again feeling eyes on him; he looked up to deck twelve to seeing a man dressed like security turn and walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to Google Translator  
> ¿dónde está mi hijo means where is my son?  
> Usted mató a mi corazón, mi maria means You murdered my heart, my Maria.


	14. Second formal night on the cruise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean try and discover why the ghost is still haunting the ship and who the mystery man is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your kudos and comments. I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Dean continued to stare at the place on deck twelve where the man had disappeared. 

“What was that?” Mindy asked breaking him out of his trance.

“What?” was Dean’s clever reply.

“You saw that right? Something threw that man into the pool. It came right at you. But you hit it with something that made it disappear.” Mindy said looking around for the thing she saw in Dean’s hand. “Salt? You hit it with salt and it disappeared? How did you know to do that?” Getting no reply she shook his arm saying his name, “Dean how did you know to do that?”

Dean seeing that Mindy was getting increasingly more upset and knowing he needed to talk to Sam right the fuck now, he to Mindy. “Follow me and I’ll explain.” With that he started speed walking out of the pool area to the stairs. Mindy stood shocked for thirty seconds before dropping the empty salt shaker and running after him.

They swiftly made it back to cabin 7294 where Sam was just exiting the shower wearing only a tiny towel. He was shocked and embarrassed as Dean let Mindy into their cabin.

“Dude what the heck?” Sam yelped as he jumped back into the bathroom, but not before Mindy got a good eyeful. Had she not been ten seconds from a completed mental breakdown she would have very much enjoyed the sight of Sam in the evil little towel. The man was all legs and muscles.

Dean didn’t bother to reply to Sam’s question; instead he launched right into the issue. “The ghost isn’t dead. He attacked Waldo at the pool. Mindy and I had to give him CPR in order to restart his heart.”

Sam reopened the door so only his head showed and stated, “No that can’t be, we burned the figurehead and released his spirit.”

“We obviously missed something and Waldo’s paying the price for our mistake.” Dean said, guilt coloring his words.

“We couldn’t have known the ghost was still here. We know the ghost is Don Antonio De Echeverez and we know he was attached to the figurehead. So why didn’t the salt and burn work?” Sam asked as Dean handed him the clothes he had set out on the bed.

“I don’t know. Maybe he was attracted to the figurehead because it was his wife, but he wasn’t attached to it by DNA. Or maybe there are two things on this ship with his DNA. The heck if I know.” Dean said in complete exasperation.

At this point Mindy had enough of listening. “What the hell is going on? Who is Don Antonio de whatchamacallit and did you say ghost??”

Sam had finished changing in record time and came out of the bathroom. “Okay, yes, I said ghost. We hunt ghosts and this ship is haunted. We thought Don Antonio de Echeverez was the ghost and he was attached to the figurehead on deck four so we salted and burned it.”

Mindy tried to stay calm, but it was difficult, “I overheard security talking about the missing figurehead and they found no trace of who took it on the cameras. What are you like the Ghostbusters?”

Dean couldn’t resist “Who you gonna call?” Sam shot him a bitch face eye roll combination that was quite epic.

Turning to Mindy, “Not quite like the movie, no. We hunt vengeful spirits and try to stop them from killing innocent people like Waldo.” At Waldo’s name Dean became serious again.

“Mindy, were you on deck for Waldo’s whole attack?” Dean asked, to which Mindy nodded her head yes. “This is important, what exactly did you see?”

Mindy was silent for a moment trying to recall every detail. “Okay, I was standing at the station to return my towel. Waldo got in line behind me and suddenly the air got really cold and it felt like the air got electric, similar to how it feels in a lightning storm. Then out of nowhere a voice yelled in what sounded like Spanish and I felt a whoosh of air behind me. I turned and saw Waldo flying into the pool. That’s when Dean ran out and started yelling at the ghost then threw salt at it and it disappeared. He dived in and a couple of guys helped pull Waldo out of the pool. Then Dean started chest compression and I helped with the mouth to mouth. That’s it. That’s all I saw.” Mindy finished not knowing what more to say. 

“Before the attack did you notice anyone hanging around? Maybe watching you or Waldo?” Dean asked while Sam gave him a questioning look.

“Not really I don’t ……” Mindy trailed off as she thought back. “Yes! A man on deck twelve; he was watching us. But he was dressed in security clothes so I just figured he was doing his job.”

Dean got quiet and thoughtful: Sam knew that face meant he was onto something. “What’re you thinking?” Sam asked.

“I don’t think the ghost is acting on its own. We thought he was because he was attacking men that matched the men on his ship. But then why attack me in Jamaica? It makes no sense. Unless….what if someone is controlling the ghost? Last night, I felt like someone was watching me at Quest but I let it go because there was only a security guard who was watching the door. We’ve seen people control ghosts before. Why not this security guard?” Dean answered.

“But why? What’s his reasoning and why now?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know.” Dean answered honestly. “Did the man see you watching him?” Dean asked Mindy.

“I don’t know I just got a quick look at him and then I was distracted by Waldo flying head first into the pool.” Mindy answered annoyed with herself.

“Okay Sam, while I shower, why don’t you walk Mindy back to her cabin and salt the doors for her, then we can check out deck twelve. If the man thinks Mindy saw him, he might have the ghost attack her.” Dean explained, taking charge of the situation in full hunter mode.

Sam nodded, but Mind protested “I saw him. I could help you find him. You just said the ghost attacked you so you’re in more danger than me. Plus the ghost was seriously pissed at you.”

Dean gave her a little smirk. “I can handle myself, sweetheart. But I can’t be responsible for you. If I’m worried about protecting you I’ll leave myself open to attack.”  
Mindy reluctantly relented knowing he was right. “Okay Sam my cabin is on deck ten number 1320.” Sam grabbed his walking stick with the iron owl and followed Mindy.

“Is he always that protective?” Mindy asked as they walked down the hallway.

“Oh you don’t know the half of it.” Sam replied with a laugh as he punched the elevator button.

“I can’t stand waiting for these damn things. Do you mind if we take the stairs?” Mindy asked.

Again Sam laughed “No problem I hate waiting for them, too.” He couldn’t help but admire Mindy’s ass as she made her way up the stairs in her tiny jean shorts and bikini top. Mindy, being no blushing flower, knew he was looking so she tossed a bit of sway to her step. She would never touch Sam, she just wouldn’t do that to Sheila, but it was an ego boost to know he was looking.

Soon enough they arrived at cabin 1320. As she was about to unlock the door Sam stopped her. “Shouldn’t we knock first? Sheila might be changing. I don’t want to walk in on her.”

Mindy smiled at his manners. “Not a problem. This is an owner’s suite.” She said as if that answered his question. He just nodded having no idea what an owner’s suite was until she opened the cabin door and his jaw fell to the floor.

“Holy crap, this is huge.” Sam said, slowly walking in and admiring the suite. As he entered, the dining room area was the first thing to catch his eye. It featured a round table made of dark wood with two blue fabric chairs around it. Behind the table was a bar area with different types of glasses and a wine rack. Past the dining room area was a full living room area with a comfortable L shaped tan fabric couch and a light gray recliner with ottoman. These chairs were set in front of a flat screen television that looked to be at least 50 inches tall. The television appeared to be on a swivel so that it could be turned to face an area that was now closed by a blue curtain.

As the words left his mouth the curtain opened to reveal two twin beds and a vanity area with a lighted mirror and chair. Sheila appeared dressed for dinner in her formal night attire. She took his breath away in her Kelly green chiffon gown. The dress was dramatic with a ruched bodice that was off one shoulder and fitted to the hips. The skirt flowed around her legs. As she walked into the room Sam noticed a high slit on the right side revealing her golden toned leg up to the mid-thigh. Sam couldn’t decide which made his mouth drool more, the room or that dress. Mindy’s voice broke Sam’s trance and he forced himself to stop staring. 

“The Halston looks amazing; I told you that color would look great on you. What shoes are you going to wear with it?” Mindy asked excitedly.

“I can’t decide between Jimmy Choo or the Manolo Blanik. What do you think?” Sheila said holding up a pair of shiny gold shoes with jewel buckles and peek a boo toes. The other pair she was holding up was leather covered with gold glitter. They were very sexy with the straps crossing over the calf and a higher heel. The title ‘Vamp’ fit these shoes very well.

Sam answered with thinking, “the glittery ones for sure.” Then blushed realizing he had answered. He shifted his feet, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Mindy controlled her urge to laugh at Sam’s outburst. “I agree with Sam the Jimmy Choo’s will look perfect with that dress.”

Sheila smiled as she took a seat at the couch and asked, “What’s Sam doing here?” 

Mindy looked to Sam who nodded to her that she could explain things to Sheila. “You remember Waldo?”

“Yes, we had an interesting talk about sunken ships. He’s a self-trained expert. He’s knowledge is impressive.” Sheila replied at Sam’s surprised look she continued, “I work for the New York State museum as the state Archaeologist.”

Sam was impressed and wanted to ask more questions about her job, but Mindy interjected. “He was attacked and thrown into the pool.” She stated pulling no punches. 

“Oh my God. Who would do such a thing? Is he alright?” Sheila asked her voice full of concern.

“Dean distracted the attacker and pulled him out of the pool. He wasn’t breathing so Dean did chest compression, while I gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation. We got him breathing again and the medical team took him.” Mindy explained solemnly.

“How horrible, who attacked him?” Sheila asked clearly upset.

“That’s the part that is going to be hard for you to believe. I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t seen it.” Mindy explained then took a deep breath and spat it out. “It was a ghost that attacked him. Dean used salt to repel the spirit.” Mindy finished quickly and was surprised that Sheila didn’t look shocked.

“That makes sense. Salt is a pure and earthly substance, it’s used to repel the unnatural.” Sheila explained easily.

Sam was surprised and couldn’t hold his silence. “You believe in ghosts?”

“I grew up in New Orleans, before moving to New York. The teenagers would go to the Saint Louis Cemetery Number One and leave gifts for the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. The kids dared me to do it blindfolded. They were the most popular girls in school so I agreed. Once they got to the Glapion family crypt, where Marie Laveau is rumored to be entombed, they left me blindfolded and ran off. The air got cold and I heard voices yelling at me in French. I pulled off the blindfold but it was a moonless night and I couldn’t see my way out. Something grabbed at my leg; I screamed and begged the girls to help me. But they were long gone. Then a silvery light appeared and the hands gripping my leg let go with a shrill shriek. The light calmed me and I followed it out of the cemetery. So yea, I believe in ghosts. After that experience I studied everything I could about how to protect myself. I always keep this with me.” With that she pulled an iron knife from a hidden pocket in her dress. 

Mindy was stunned; Sam was horrified as he listened to her story. Not sure how to reply he decided to go with the matter at hand. “We think the ghost is Don Antonio de Echeverez and that someone is controlling him.”

“Oh, it was you who burned the figurehead.” Sheila said making Sam do a double take. 

“How did you know that?” he asked.

“Don Antonio de Echeverez was one of the captains from the 1715 fleet. The figurehead was made in the likeness of his wife Maria. You thought the ghost was tied to it. But if Waldo was attacked then it wasn’t that. But why do you think the ghost is under someone’s control?” Sheila asked.

“His first attacks made sense, but then he broke pattern to attack Dean and Waldo.” Sam explained.

“Attacks?” Sheila questioned.

“The scurvy from the last cruise was the reason we booked this cruise. On this cruise a man was whipped at the buffet and another man was hung from the rock climbing wall.” Sam explained. 

“The victims were Castillo and Menendez and those were the names of Don Antonio’s Admiral Generals. He attacked them for not finding his son.” Sheila easily answered. Mindy was always impressed with Sheila’s mind, how quickly it sorted facts and pulled information. But it no longer surprised her. What surprised her was how quickly Sam went from being adorable awkward Sam to supernatural hunter Sam. He was in his element talking about the supernatural as if he had done it his whole life.

“That’s right. Dean’s a Winchester and not one of Echeverez’s crew. So why attack him? Plus Mindy saw a person on deck twelve.” He said not thinking until he saw Sheila’s shocked expression.

“Winchester? I thought your name was Osbourne? Sam and Dean Winchester! The hunters?” Sheila asked and Sam knew his goose was cooked.

He was cornered and he knew it, Dean was going to kill him. He answered simply. “You’ve heard of us?” 

“Yea I have. In 2005 Dean did a job in New Orleans. He caught people’s attention.” Sheila explained, “Then during my research I found a helpful website called Hellhound’s Lair.com, they don’t like you guys at all.” Sheila said laughing as Sam grinned and ducked his head.

“Good old Harry Spangler and Ed Zeddmore, is that where you got the hint about iron?” He said shaking his head.

“Yup, the rock salt shells were genius. Who came up with that one?” Sheila asked.

“Dean did. He’s pretty inventive. Speaking of my brother, I need to head back. But first, all the doors and windows should be salted.” He looked over for the first time and noticed the large balcony. “Wow, okay and the balcony door too. That’s so cool you have a balcony.”

“You think that’s impressive check out the bathroom.” Sheila invited, delighted at Sam’s excited reaction. Mindy started salting the doors as he wandered into the bathroom with Sheila. She heard Sam exclaim, “You have a bidet and a Jacuzzi tub!”

After the bathroom tour, Sam headed back to his tiny cabin to find Dean waiting for him. “What took so long?” Dean demanded.

“Sheila knew about ghosts and we discussed things.” Sam replied carefully.

“What things Sam?” Dean asked suspiciously, he knew when Sam was hiding information. 

“She knows about the 1715 fleet, that we burned the figurehead and our real last name.” Sam answered quickly like ripping off a Band-Aid.

 

“Damn it Sam!! Why in the hell did you tell her all that?” Dean exclaimed angrily. 

“I didn’t, she’s a freakin’ genius and an Archaeologist by the way, and she figured it out! She and Waldo had a detailed chat about the sunken 1715 fleet.” Sam replied, vehemently defending himself.

“Okay.” Dean relented “What exactly does she know?”

“She knows we’re hunters and she’s heard of Sam and Dean Winchester. It’s really your fault. She’s from New Orleans and I guess you made a big splash there in 2005 on a hunt.” Sam explained.

Dean got a genuine smile on his face at the mention of the 2005 hunt. “That was a great hunt.” He replied, then seeing Sam’s expression he got serious again. “That’s not bad; we can use a genius on our side. Plus she’s an Archaeologist and was talking about sunken ship with Waldo. We should head up to deck twelve and see if there are any clues on whose controlling our ghost.”

As the boys approached deck twelve they heard the anchor being lifted for sail away and noticed a crowd at the railing. “What’s going on?” Sam asked Dean who just shrugged his shoulders and went towards the crowd to see what was going on.

There were about twelve people shouting down at something on the dock. Finally at the railing the boys saw what the commotion was. There was a man and a woman running for the ship that was quickly leaving the dock, headed back to Florida. The woman’s arms were loaded with shopping bags. As the couple ran the crowd yelled ‘hurry up’ ‘run’ ‘we’re leaving’ to encourage the couple to run faster. 

As they got closer Sam recognized the woman, it was the line cutting bitch from this morning. About the time Sam recognized her others in the crowd, apparently did to, they started cheering and encouraging the ship to leave her ass behind. I guess he and Dean weren’t the only people she pissed off Sam thought with glee. The woman on the dock dropped her bags and was at a full out run for the ship following right behind her husband. A huge smile graced his face as he yelled to the captain to haul ass. He looked over to see Dean’s joyful face as the ship moved away from the dock and it became apparent the couple had missed the ship. Dean yelled down, “Karma’s a bitch, bitch” to the woman who was now standing on the dock being yelled at by her male companion.

As the couple became nothing but a dot in the distance Sam couldn’t resist a happy smile and the comment, “I guess I’m getting my pink grapefruit tomorrow.” Others in the crowd were commenting on the times she had cut them off for bacon, toast, pastries etc. It turns out she never waited in line always cutting to the front and shocking people with her rudeness.

Finally, the boys got to searching for clues on deck twelve. At first they had no luck, but at the railing overlooking the pool area, they noticed a gold coin. The coin had a cross in the middle and what appeared to be animals on each of the four corners made by the cross. The outer edge had words, but time and age had worn the coin down making them impossible to read. Unlike coins today this one was not perfectly round and was roughly pressed into an oval shape. The other side had some type of crest and the date of 1713.

“Is that a gold coin?” Dean said pulling the coin from Sam’s hand.

“Yup it looks like our man dropped it. Flip it over and check out the date.” He replied.

Seeing the date Dean let out a low whistle.

“Since Waldo’s recovering I think we should show it to Sheila.” Sam said taking the coin from Dean’s hand. As they headed back to the cabin they couldn’t help but notice the passengers dressed in tuxedos and gowns. Arriving back at the cabin their rented tuxedos were on the bed waiting for them.

Dean whined at the sight, “Not this again. I hate wearing these things.” It’s always amazing to Sam how Dean could go from a lethal hunter to a whining three year old in the space of 3 seconds.

“We’re trapped on a ship at sea all day tomorrow with a spirit who is pissed off at us for burning his figurehead. He’s being controlled by who know who for who knows what reason. So yes you have to wear the tux so we can talk to Sheila. It’s not a mystery why the ghost attacked Waldo. The man controlling it know he’s helping us and that we’re trying to stop the ghost. This man is holding all the cards. He’s predicted our moves perfectly.” Sam raved at his brother.

“How do you even know Sheila will be at dinner?” Dean countered stubbornly.

“Because she was dressed for dinner when I went to their cabin.” Sam replied.

“Fine I’ll wear the damn Tux.” Dean said slamming this way into the bathroom and shutting the door. Sam tried real hard not to roll his eyes at his brother but couldn’t stop himself. He started changing for dinner.

Sam had controlled his fluffy hair with some gel. Parting his hair on the right and tucking the sides behind his ears. He trimmed back his side burns a bit noticing they were out of control. Dean had threatened him, saying he was going to salt Sam’s side burns since they looked like they were haunted by the spirit of fat 70s Elvis. They did look better a bit shorter and thinner, not that he would ever admit it to his brother. Finally Dean emerged from the bathroom clean shaven and smelling of cologne.

“Are you ready yet?” Sam asked he was in a hurry to see Sheila again even if he convinced himself it was only to find out about the gold coin.

“Yea I’m ready.” Dean said slipping into his tuxedo jacket. They headed for the stairs having mostly given up on the slow ass elevators. It did look strange, the two men in full tuxedos using iron walking sticks. But the sticks added an element of elegance to their appearance.

The dining room doors were not yet opened when the boys arrived. Sam’s eye immediately went to Sheila in her green gown. He made his way quickly to her side, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by his smirking brother. Dean was admiring Mindy in her floor length black halter dress with beaded trim around her slim waist and the straps of the gown. The back of the dress dipped down low to reveal her toned back and shoulders.

“Hello boys.” Mindy greet in a husky voice. Sheila turned and graced Sam with a dazzling smile.

“Hi, Sheila can I talk to you a minute?” Sam asked barely sparing Mindy a glace. 

“Sure what can I help you with?” Sheila asked following Sam to a quiet corner. He pulled the gold coin from his pocket.

“Do you recognize this?” Sam replied handing her the coin.

She held the coin and ran her finger over the engraving. Next she viewed the coin from the side to measure it’s thickness after a couple of minutes she let out a low whistle. “See that shield? That’s only found on coins from 1713. The quality of this coin is amazing when you think now long it’s been in the ocean. This coin is worth over ten thousand dollars. Where did you find it?” Sheila asked still holding the coin and caressing it with her fingers.

“Deck twelve where the man was watching Waldo’s attack.” Was Sam’s somber reply.

“You think the man who dropped this is controlling the ghost?” Sheila said handing back the coin.

“Yes I do. But how would a cruise ship security guard get a ten thousand dollar gold coin?” Sam asked confused.

Sheila shrugged, “It probably washed up on the beach after a hurricane.”

“What?” Sam asked shocked.

“People are always finding gold and silver coins on the beach. The storms wash the coins to the beach and a simple metal detector can find them. This one just happens to be a rare and well preserved one.” Sheila explained.

“But in order for the security guard to use this coin to control the ghost of Echeverez it would have to contain his genetic material.” Sam explained as the crowd clear since the dining room doors had been opened for a while.

“It’s possible this coin was a part of Don Antonio’s private slash. The captain generally skimmed off the top a part of the treasure. They kept this portion in their cabins it could have his genetic material.” Sheila explained.

“Thank you Sheila, you’re been really helpful.” Sam said smiling.

“Just be careful, he’s a security guard so he can watch you and you still don’t know who he is.” Sheila said with concern in her voice.

“But we have the cursed object, so he can’t set the ghost on us.” Sam said sounding relieved.

Sheila looked doubtful, but didn’t say anything more as she and Sam walked back over to Mindy and Dean who were engrossed in their own conversation. Dean had a serious expression on his face and Mindy appeared to be reassuring him, but he wasn’t buying it. Mindy caressed his arm one final time before they parted and he and Sam headed in the opposite direction for dinner.

Their table looked sparse with only Sandy and June there. Sandy shot a concerned look at Dean. “I heard Waldo was attacked and is in the medical bay. Did you save this life?” Sandy asked him directly.

“I just did some CPR and Mindy helped me.” Dean explained quickly. “How did you hear about it?” 

“Trudy came by to explain why they wouldn’t be at dinner. Waldo’s still recovering in the deck two medical bay. They want to monitor his breathing. A lot of water got into his lungs and that could have serious side effects. Trudy wanted to thank you, but you weren’t here.” Sandy explained.

Dean nodded then started staring intently at his menu feeling guilty. Trudy shouldn’t be thanking him. It’s his fault Waldo was attacked. If they weren’t hunting the ghost and asking Waldo’s advice he wouldn’t have been a target. Sam seeing his mood changed the topic and kept the ladies engaged. Dinner was a sedate affair. Dean wasn’t his usual upbeat self and just picked at his chicken breast which was a strange order considering there was top sirloin on the menu tonight. In fact, Sam became very worried when he skipped ordering dessert. Dean was clearly on edge and punishing himself for Waldo’s attack.

Even their server Nelda noticed, she bought him out an apple pie a la mode despite the fact he hadn’t ordered it. Dean looked at the dessert with surprise. “I didn’t order this. In fact this wasn’t even on the menu tonight.” Dean said clearly confused.

Nelda smiled and explained, “The chef is trying out a new recipe and was wondering if you could give us an opinion.” The smell of cinnamon and baked apples perked him up. “It smells great.” He remarked with a small smile.

The only noises heard from Dean after that was chewing and moaning in delight as he dug into the light flakey pastry. Sam mouthed thank you to Nelda who nodded and smiled back.

“We’re going down to the medical bay to visit Waldo. Do you guys want to come with us?” June asked, being a doctor she was curious about the facilities on board ship in addition to her concern for Waldo.

Sam knew it was important for Dean to see that Waldo was going to be okay. He needed Dean’s head in the game and that wouldn’t happen until he stopped blaming himself. “We’d like that.” Sam replied before Dean could decline.

Dean hung back as they entered the sick bay where Waldo was lying in a hospital bed. Trudy jumped up from her chair and gave Dean a big hug, which he silently endured with his arms hanging limp at his sides. “Thank you so much for bringing my Waldo back to me.” She said with tears in her eyes.

Not having a clue how to reply he simply said, “You’re welcome.” It was hard to accept her thanks considering it was his fault Waldo had been hurt in the first place.

Sam took the pressure off Dean by asking Waldo, “So how’re you feeling?”

“I feel good, my chest is a bit sore. But I don’t know why they insist in making me stay down here.” Waldo said a bit annoyed. Again Dean looked guilty; his chest compression caused part of Waldo’s soreness.

June addressed Waldo’s concerns, “A pulmonary edema is very serious. If there is water in your lungs it can lead to pneumonia if not carefully monitored.” She explained stunning Waldo into silence much Trudy’s relief.

After a short visit, Sandy and June agreed to keep Trudy company as she went up to the buffet for dinner. The boys stayed with Waldo while she was gone.

Dean looked at Waldo and said, “I’m so sorry man. I really thought we got that ghost.”

“It’s not your fault. I was looking up at deck twelve right before my swan dive into the pool, there was a security guard and he waved at me. Then I swear he had something in his hand and it looked like he was chanting.” Waldo explained. Next thing I know I’m flying through the air.”

Sam pulled the coin from his pocket, “was this the thing he was holding?” Sam said as he handed Waldo the coin. “Sheila told me this coin was part of the 1715 fleet.”

Waldo smiled in true joy as he studied the rare coin. “I can’t be sure it was this he was holding. But wow this is authentic; I’ve seen a lot of fakes, the 1713 is rare. See this shield? It’s only on the 1713s. Look at the condition of this coin its near perfect.”

Dean couldn’t help but smile at Waldo’s total geek out about the coin. It’s exactly how Sam was about whatever weirdo rare fact he had encountered. “So Sammy, are you thinking the security guard dropped that on accident and it’s how he’s controlling the ghost?”

“I think so.” Sam said taking the coin back from a reluctant Waldo.

“We should burn it just to be sure.” Dean said to which Waldo turned horrified eyes in his direction.

“Do you have any idea how much that coin is worth?” he asked.

“Sheila said about ten thousand dollars.” Sam replied. At which point Dean almost swallowed his tongue. He quickly grabbed the coin out of Sam’s hand and stared intently at it.

“Depends, in an auction I have heard of these things going for as high as fifteen thousand dollars. But that’s only if a bidding war ensues.” Waldo explained.

“Okay, no way we’re burning it.” Dean said “If we have it, the guard can’t control the ghost. We still win. I say we hang on to this bad boy and then auction it off after the cruise. Baby can use new rims.” He said grinning at Sam.

“What if the guard takes it from us and hurts more people?” Sam asked logically.

“We can put it someplace safe where he won’t find it. Waldo, do you remember what the security guard looked like?” Dean asked.

“He was tall like Sam, expect he had olive skin tone, his face was heart shaped and his nose was very prominent. It was quite long and a bit wide, his hair was dark brown and curly. I couldn’t see his eyes. Sorry.” Waldo said.

“No, that’s great, not too many sasquatches out there like my kid brother.” Sam found he could barely toss Dean a bitch face because he was so glad guilt ridden Dean was gone. They talked some more, it turns out Waldo was really interesting company. He even admitted to wearing the striped shirts on purpose to mess with people. This made Dean crack up. Soon enough Trudy came back without June and Sandy who went to the nighttime show. The boys headed back to the cabin and hid the coin inside the Speedo swimsuit/boy shorts figuring the guard wouldn’t want to touch those trunks.

They searched the ship but weren’t able to track a tall big nosed guard anywhere. Finally they called it a night; they would have all day tomorrow to search for the guard. 

The guard watched the boys through the camera and smiled as Sam showed the gold coin to Sheila. Delighted his plan had worked so well. That should distract them long enough to put his final plan into place.


	15. The exciting conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cruise ship is taken over by a mad man. Can Dean and Sam stop him and save the passengers?

The morning light flashed off the ship as it glided through the deep blue ocean towards Florida. Inside the ship Sam and Dean laid on the comfortable mattress covered by soft sheets in a peaceful sleep. Suddenly the public announcement system came on filling the room with a static buzz. Dean jerked awake instinctively reaching under his pillow for the gun he normally kept there. When he encountered only air he realized where he was. He looked over at Sam who also was jerked awake standing next to his bed in a defensive stance. The boys looked at each other as words started coming through into their cabin. Dean flipped on the light in their cabin. They both groaned as the bright light hurt their tired eyes.

“Welcome to Royal Caribbean’s punishment. I’m sorry you will have to die today, but this evil corporation must be stopped.” At the end of the statement there was a moment of silence before people started screaming in panic. Doors opened and slammed shut and cruisers attempted to leave the ship.

PA system  continued on “You cannot leave, I won’t allow it. I’m in control now. Royal Caribbean took my brother’s life and now I’ll take all of yours so no one will ever cruise this line again.”

With that a ghostly howl came over the airwaves. Then clearly echoing over the PA system were the words. “¿dónde está mi hijo” and all the power on the ship went off line. The cabin was plunged into darkness as the ship came to a dead stop.

“Sonofabitch.” Dean yelled as he reached down for the duffel bag and the gold coin tucked in the tiny swim trunks. He felt the cold metal against his hand. “The coin is still here. How is he controlling the ghost?” Dean asked, squinting his eyes at his brother through the darkness.

Sam was silent for a minute thinking, before giving a disgusted sigh “he tricked us again, he dropped the coin so we would think he was using it to control the ghost. But it’s not the right object.”

“So what, he’s going to use the ghost to sink this ship?” Dean said.

“That appears to be the case and now we have a crazed maniac, a vengeful spirit and over six thousand panicked people trying to escape a doomed ship.” Sam said gesturing to the door where screams could still be heard.

“Awesome.” Dean said rolling his eyes as he blindly started putting on clothes. “Man I need to pee. The least he could’ve done was let us pee first.” Dean said staggering through the cabin. As he passed Sam’s bed, his arm was grabbed and Sam pressed a flashlight into his hand.

“Thanks bro.” Dean grunted in relief as he headed to the bathroom.

Sam got up and started dressing; he was trying to place the man’s accent, when his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He answered the door to see passengers still bumbling around in the dark terrified of the mysterious man who threatened their lives. When Sam’s eyes landed on Andro and Mirko standing at his door it dawned on him where he knew the accent from. “Croatian, he’s Croatian.”  Sam said opening the door wider to let in Mirko and Andro.

“Good ear. Unfortunately he is one of my countrymen.” Mirko replied sadly.

Dean came out of the bathroom.

“So the security guard is Croatian.” Dean replied having heard from the bathroom.

“He’s a security guard?” Andro questioned.

“Yup. Do you know a security guard that was ‘wronged’ by Royal Caribbean?” Dean asked figuring Andro being a crew member might have the answers they needed.

Sure enough his face got sadder as he explained, “Yes it’s Alasd, his brother Srecko fell over board and died about a year ago. The cruise line insisted they had a witness that saw Srecko jump. But Srecko was part of the maintenance crew and he was wearing a life vest but was not attached to the safety harness. The safety harnesses were always broken and after Srecko’s death they were all replaced. Srecko’s neck was broken when he smacked into the side of the ship so the life jacket didn’t help him. Since Srecko ‘Jumped’ it was deemed a suicide and the cruise line never paid on his life insurance policy. Alasd’s family fought in court but lost. He always blamed Royal Caribbean for claiming his brother jumped. No one knows the truth.”

Both Sam and Dean looked at each. “Yup, that would do it. Now the question is how do we find Alasd and what the hell is he using to control the ghost?” Dean said in complete frustration. Alasd really had them chasing their tails for six damn days and that had to stop now or else everyone on the ship was in danger.

“That’s not the worst.” Mirko said.

Dean rubbed his tired eyes, “Okay, what else?”

“I normally take a morning walk on the outdoor jogging track before I start my workout. None of the doors leading out on deck will open. We are all trapped inside the ship with no way to get to the life boats.”

“Awesome, that’s just awesome.” Dean said slamming his hand into the wall.

“Alasd did give us an advantage.” Sam said surprising his brother.

“What advantage did he give us?” Dean asked confused watching Sam dig through their bags. As far as he could see they were pretty screwed. Alasd could be anywhere on the ship. 

Sam pulled the EMF meters out of the bag and smiled in triumph. “He turned off the power.”

Dean cracked a huge smile, “Dude you’re freakin brilliant. We have two EMF meters. Mirko and I can check port and Andro and Sam can check starboard. We’ll start on Deck two. I mean if you guys want to help. This is going to be dangerous.” He warned.

“More dangerous than waiting for a pissed off Croatian to sink the ship?” Mirko smirked.

“Good point.” Dean laughed.

“Andro has some two way radios so we can communicate.” Mirko said.

“Problem, we only have one flashlight.” Sam explained to which Andro held up the flashlight he and Mirko had used to get to the boy’s cabin. Sam grabbed it out of his hand and headed for the bathroom.

“Sure Sam we’ll just wait here I’m sure there’s plenty of time.” Dean said sarcastically.

“Hey some thing’s have priority. Unless piss now repels ghosts, its best I take care of this now.” Sam snapped back. “Jerk.”

“Just move your ass, Bitch.” Dean replied with a smile. Despite the dire situation Mirko and Andro couldn’t help laughing at the boy’s banter.

The original plan had been to start at deck two, but the hallways were so crammed with people it was difficult for the hunters to search the darkened hallways. Cruise staff had prepared for a terrorist attack, but not on a ship without any power. Dean was waiting for the other shoe to drop as he struggled through the crowded ship. Finally as he entered the elevator and stairwell area did he hear the inevitable thud. There were people trapped in the glass elevators stuck between floors when the power went off. All of a sudden Dean heard a Spanish phrase he had come to know so well. “¿dónde está mi hijo” shouted through the PA system and the ship began to rock back and forth.

The people trapped in the glass elevator were being thrown around like ping pong balls. Panicked cruisers were trampling each other in an attempt to get to safety. A mother holding her four year old son’s hand lost contact as she was pushed to the ground. Dean leaped through the crowd grabbing the boy and using his body as a shield to protect the toddler. Mirko parted the crowd helping the fallen woman back up. Finally the ship stopped and all that could be heard was the weeping of the petrified people around him. Dean was afraid to look at the trapped people in the elevators. They had no protection in there and he knew they had to get them out.  

“Jeffery! Where are you.” Fallen woman was shouting in a quavering voice looking for her son.

“Mommy, I’m scared.” Came the reply from the frightened boy. Dean picked him up and brought him back to his mother.

“Thank you I thought he was going to be killed.” She said hugging her son tight to her chest. “We were trying to get to the life boats.” She explained. Mirko shook his head sadly behind her.

“Listen to me, the best thing you can do right now is to go back to your cabin and wait for an announcement.” Dean explained. “They aren’t loading any life boats at this time.”

“I heard the doors are all locked.” A man in the crowd yelled overhearing Dean’s reply to the lady.

Andro and Sam arrived; since Andro was wearing his uniform he thought it was best he address the crowd. “Yes sir that is correct, this is part of the protocol in this type of situation. Right now the crew is organizing for an evacuation on the outer decks. We don’t want a panic. It is best you good back to your cabins. We will make announcements through the PA system.”  Most people accepted this to be true.

Andro used his two way radios to organizing other crew members to guide the panicked passengers back into their cabins. After the panic caused by the rocking ship, the passengers were more than happy to trust the situation was under control. It was an illusion, but in the long run it was best they believed the fantasy.

Now in addition to the other problems, the cruise staff needed to address the passengers trapped in the elevators. There was even crew members struck in service elevators. Luckily since those areas were not crowded the trapped crew members were easily guided safely out. Andro called the maintenance crew and harnesses were lowered down to pull the cruise passengers out of the glass elevators. The boys entrusted Andro and Mirko to organize this effort. It turned out Mirko’s military training made him efficient and calm in a crisis situation.

An hour or so later the hallways were cleared of passengers and the people in the elevators were being rescued. They were upset, covered in bruises and cuts but were mostly okay. The worst so far was a man who broke his arm and nose being pushed into the glass elevator wall.

Finally Sam and Dean started searching for the ghost on Deck two. Since it was two instead of four the boys decided to stick together. For two hours they searched the dark hallways of decks two through nine; the EMF meters remained stubbornly silent. Sam had a white knuckled grip on his walking stick, the other grasped the flashlight that was only shooting light in a two foot circle. Both of Sam’s hands were occupied with the flashlight, EMF meter and the walking stick. If the ghost attacked he wouldn’t have a free hand to fight.

The worst part of a hunt was waiting and not knowing when the next attack would happen. Started down the hallway on deck ten as they passed cabin 1320 the door opened and Dean and Sam were greeted by Sheila and Mindy. However, this time the girls were dressed in jeans, hiking boots, and plain t-shirts. Sheila had a determined look in her eyes that Sam didn’t like.

“You gals should stay in your cabin. If the ghost rocks the ship again you could be hurt.” Sam said speaking directly to Sheila who was shaking her head no.

“We ‘gals’ are in as much danger as you. This security guard asshole intends on sinking this ship. We can help you find him.” Sheila said stubbornly.

“Look, I understand, but we can’t protect you and hunt this ghost.” Dean injected.

To which Mindy replied, “We’re from New York. We know how to protect ourselves.”

“Sweetheart, this is different than a mugger on the subway. This ghost will try and kill you.” Dean emphatically explained.

“We know that. Both Mindy and I are prepared for the ghost.” Sheila showed him her iron knife and Mindy waved an extra-large container of salt. Seeing the girls were dug in Sam tried once more to discourage them from the hunt.

“There’s a real flesh and blood man out there and we have to stop him by any means necessary. That’s going to get messy quick. Are you sure that’s something you want to see?” Sam asked appealing to Mindy this time sensing she was the weak link.

“This man has threatened the lives of everyone person on this ship. He needs to be stopped through any means possible. There’s innocent men, women and children on this ship that need to be protected. Sheila and I want to help you do that.” Mindy stated with conviction. Well much for Mindy being the weak link. Sam looked over at Dean who was smiling at the feisty red head. He caught Sam’s look, shrugged his shoulders and at that point Sam knew the battle was lost.

“Okay, you can come with us, but if there’s trouble you’ll do whatever we ask even if you don’t want to.” Sam explained. Both ladies nodded.

“Okay Mindy you’re with me. Sheila you’re with Sam on the starboard side of the ship.” Dean explained feeling pressure to stop fooling around and find Alasd before he had the ghost attack again.

Mindy tried not to show just how scared she was, this whole ghost thing was new to her. The other three had experience but she had no idea what to expect. The thing was she couldn’t back down. Sure she might die but could she really live with herself knowing she did nothing to help?

Mindy took the EMF meter from Dean; as he leaned in close to show her how to operate it she could feel the heat from his body. His scent was a divine mix of salt water, leather, and his natural musk with a slight vanilla undertone. Mindy wondered if that was from all the pie he ate. She was having a hard time listening to what he was saying while his beautiful lips were moving. She kept wondering if they were as soft and they seemed. She forced her eyes off his lips and onto the meter so she wouldn’t miss an important fact. She was a forty something year old woman. Why the heck was she acting like an inexperienced fourteen year old girl with this man?

Dean didn’t notice Mindy’s struggles since he was concentrating on the hunt. Even though he was worried about her safety it was still good to have her along; four hands after all were better than two. He was getting tense as hell waiting for the next attack. But all through deck ten nothing happened, the EMF meter was silent and the ghost hadn’t attacked again. What was Alasd waiting for? When they met up with Sam and Sheila, he was hoping for news; news of any kind would do. But Sam just shook his head so as they made their way to deck eleven.

Shortly after reaching deck eleven they heard a loud speaker from a coast guard ship. Since the large cruise ship had no power it had no radio or radar to communicate with the Coast Guard. How the coast guard knew the ship was in distress was mystery to the boys. “This is Coast Guard Commanding Officer Massarelli of the USCGC Confidence. We are acting under the authority of the United States of America’s homeland security. Freedom of the Seas, you are not responding to radio contact. Please send the captain out on deck so we can get a status report on the ship.”

“Oh crap, this isn’t good.” Sam said as Rose appeared before the group.

She hesitated looking at Sheila and Mindy then noticed the ladies holding EMF meters. She looked at the boys and said, “Well, it appears we still have a ghost problem on this ship.”

The guilt Dean had been holding at bay all day came rushing back as he replied, “Yeah, he wasn’t attached to the figurehead like we thought.”

Both boys held their breaths waiting for Rose to unload on them, but instead she nodded and said, “Shit happens. We’ll just have to find the real cursed object this time.”

Dean rubbed a weary hand over the bridge of his nose, why did every woman on board sudden think they were hunters? “No offense Rose but this is dangerous and we don’t want you to get hurt.” Sam answered as Dean nodded his head in agreement.

“You boys need me. You can’t get outside without me.” Rose smirked.

“Wait, you can get through the doors?” Dean asked excited. Maybe they could get the passengers into life boats and to safety.

“Watch.” Rose said and walked over to the glass doors leading to the pool area. She removed her Pink Himalayan salt pendant and held it to the doors. There was an unearthly howl, and then the doors slid open.

They made their way into the pool deck with Sam and Dean smiling. “We can use your necklace to get the passengers to the life boats.” Sam said mirroring Dean’s thoughts.

Just then the EMF meters started going crazy and they heard the dreaded words, “¿dónde está mi hijo.” The ghost manifested itself three feet in front of the ragtag group. Mindy clutched her salt and moved closer to Dean, who faced off against the ghost and said “Why don’t you learn another song? We already heard that one.”

Sam’s eyes searched the surrounding areas for Alasd, while Sheila took up a defensive fighting position, her iron knife in her right hand. Most surprising was Rose who took a protective stance in front of the group with the pendant dangling from her hand. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind tossed Dean into Rose causing her to drop the precious pendant, followed immediately by another; scattering the group as they rolled like bowling pins away from the pendant.  

“Damn it.” Rose exclaimed struggling to get back to her feet as the wind pressed down on her.

Alasd reached down and picked up the pendant. “I thought the rumors about you being a witch were wrong. Where did you get this little gem?” Alasd said studying the necklace before carelessly tossing it into the pool. Dean started towards the security guard but as he got closer Alasd started to chant. “deus of silenti etc Morana, redimio thee volo!”

The ghost’s power increased, the lights that had been dead began to flicker on and off. The ship started to rock knocking the group back to the ground. Alasd was unaffected by the ship’s movement. Sam used his body to protect Sheila as the lounge chairs skidded into them. Rose was thrown to Alasd’s feet. Mindy’s head hit hard against the side of the ship knocking her unconscious. Dean grabbed onto a column to stop himself from crashing into the unconscious Mindy. They heard the ship groan as the metal was forced to flex with the motion of the rocking ship. Inside the ship they could hear the terrorized shrieks of the traumatized passengers.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the rocking stopped and an eerie quiet settled on the deck. Dean checked on Mindy who was starting to wake up with a large knot forming on the back of her head. Alasd grabbed ahold of Rose as the ghost of Don Antonio de Echeverez floated by his side.

“Beautiful Rose. Why do you try to stop me from what I must do? They killed Srecko. His death destroyed my parents. My mother went crazy and hasn’t talked since his death. My father is heartbroken. Yet Royal Caribbean continues on as though our suffering means nothing. They killed my brother!” The anguish apparent in his voice.

“Please. You can stop this. Let these innocent people go.” Rose pleaded.

During this exchange Sheila leaned into Sam, whispering in his ear. “Look around his neck. That’s Maria’s locket; he’s using it to control the ghost.” Sam’s eyes locked onto Alasd neck where the golden locket gleamed in the bright sunlight; a large M clearly visible on the front.

“I’m sorry Rose. These people have to be sacrificed for the greater good.” Alasd said with regret lacing his voice.

The coast guard could be heard once more throughout the ship. “Freedom of the Seas you have not responded; prepare to be boarded.” Commanding Officer Massarelli said.

Alasd’s eyes took on a crazed glint. “Time grows short. I called the Coast Guard here to witness my final act, so the world will know the truth.”

Sam reacted on instinct throwing his body into Alasd and tackling him to the ground. He pulled on the heavy gold chain trying to remove it from Alasd’s neck but the sturdy gold chain refused to snap. Dean was on his feet in an instant as Don Antonio de Echeverez rushed at the fighting men. Seeing the walking stick in Dean’s hand, Don Antonio started tossing liquor bottles from the pool bar at his head. Dean ducked the flying bottles trying to edge close enough to hit the spirit with his iron eagle.

During the fight between Alasd and Sam the locket flipped open and a beautiful golden wedding ring fell out and rolled to Dean’s feet. He picked it up and heard Rose’s shout of, “over here.” He tossed her the ring as a bottle whizzed inches from his nose. She picked it up and saw the name ‘Maria’ engraved in old world script. Rose closed her eyes and repeated the chant she had heard Alasd invoke. “deus of silenti etc Morana, redimio thee volo!”

A flash of pure white light enveloped the deck; the light was accompanied by pure love so powerful it was felt throughout the ship. Later the passengers would try and explain the amazing feeling but could never fully describe the utter peace they felt in that moment.

Don Antonio de Echeverez stopped and stared as the light turned into a beautiful woman with flowing dark hair. “mi corazón te he echado de menos. ven conmigo” She said to Don Antonio holding out her hand to him.

He sadly shook his head and replied. “Tengo que encontrar a nuestro hijo.”

“Antonio está conmigo.” Maria replied as another ghost started to form. This ghost looked to be a younger version of Don Antonio. The main difference was his brown eyes held warmth instead of the pain that was behind Don Antonio’s eyes. Antonio held his hand out to his father.

“Mi hijo.” Don Antonio said as he reached out and took hold of his wife and son. The three ghosts disappeared from view in a flash of white light, allowing the ship’s power to come back on.

Sam held onto Alasd who gave up the fight completely once he saw the ghosts were gone. His head was down in defeat as tears filled his eyes. Sam had no idea what to do with him now. Dean’s radio crackled to life and Mirko’s voice was heard. “What the hell happened?” asked the tinny voice through the radio.

Dean had an idea, “Come up to deck eleven, we need your help.” 

Sheila turned to Rose who was still holding Maria’s wedding band. “You were amazing. How did you know to call for Maria?”

Rose blushed, but happily explained. “I saw the engraving and remembered Alasd’s chant so I was hoping it would work to call Maria.”

Mindy walked over smiling as she rubbed the back of her head. “Smart. Sorry about your necklace.” All eyes went to the ruined necklace at the bottom of the pool.

“Yeah, I’m guessing the water wasn’t too good for it. I hope my nana can get me another one.” Rose said as Mirko and Andro entered the deck.

“You stopped Alasd.” Andro said looking at Sam.

“Not me. Rose deserves the credit.” Sam said which caused Mirko to give Rose an appraising look and clearly he liked what he saw.

Dean interrupted speaking to Mirko, “Since you’re a part of the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit I was hoping you could take Alasd into custody.”

Mirko said with a wink in his voice, “Since this ‘terrorist attack’ happened in international waters and Alasd’s a Croatian citizen I should be able to speak with the Coast Guard and take jurisdiction on behalf of my country.”

“Great. We would prefer to avoid the Coast Guard.” Dean said to which Sam nodded in agreement.

“Understood. Come along Alasd; time to go home.” Andro lead the way down to the brig where Alasd would remain for the rest of the cruise. Mirko wrapped his arm around Rose’s shoulders and was smiling at her as they went to speak with the Coast Guard. She smiled back leaning into the handsome Croatian’s body.

“Man, I’m starving! I wonder if they’re serving lunch yet.” Dean asked as Sam rolled his eyes and put his arm around Sheila’s shoulders. “Two.” Dean replied at the eye roll.

“Jerk.” Sam replied.

To which Dean quickly followed with “bitch.” Mindy laughed as they headed inside.

Sheila offered to help Sam pack while Dean and Mindy got lunch. Mindy knew what ‘packing’ meant and winked to her friend as she followed Dean into the Jade Restaurant watching his firm ass as he walked.

Sam opened the door to the cabin allowing Sheila to enter first. The cabin was in chaos, but they didn’t notice as Sheila grabbed an unresisting Sam and laid a passionate kiss on his lips which he eagerly returned. Lust took hold as Sam’s hands went to Sheila’s firm ass easily lifting her and pulling her closer. She wrapped her long legs around his waist as he walked across the room avoiding the scattered clothes; neither of them wanting to break the kiss. Sheila was working on the buttons of his shirt and soon it dropped to the floor just as Sam reached the bed sitting down with Sheila straddling his hips. As they broke apart for air, Sheila moved to Sam’s ear, lightly blowing at first then allowing her tongue to gently caress the outer edge, she eventually found and nibbled on his earlobe. Sam shuddered as she then began to kiss and suck on his neck working her way down to his muscular chest. He couldn’t control the moan that escaped his lips as she sucked on his nipple. His hands made their way under her shirt to work on the hooks of her bra. To his frustration he couldn’t find the annoying little hooks. Sheila husked into his ear, “It hooks in the front.”  

Meanwhile, back on deck eleven the staff had been cleared to return to their duties and was bringing out different lunch items to Dean’s great relief. Mindy ate her normal salad and watched in astonishment as Dean tore his way through a burger, hot dog and fries. “What? I missed breakfast and this is really good. I don’t know how you can eat that rabbit food.” he defended seeing the look on her face.

“No, it’s fine; I’m just jealous you can eat all that and still be in such good shape. By the way, I fucking hate salads, but when your old ass reaches a certain age food like that just collects right on your hips.” Mindy said eyeballing his fries with envy.

Dean smiled at her honesty, “Come on. One little fry isn’t gonna hurt you.” He said waving a fry by her mouth. She grinned back and decided to have a little fun of her own so instead of biting the fry she sucked the fry out of his fingers licking the grains of salt off his pinky.

“Delicious.” Mindy said entertained at his surprised look. He quickly grabbed another fry and held it up for her. She laughed and went back to eating her salad as if nothing happened. But she did notice he was watching her lips as she ate.

Althea came by their table dropping off a slice of Apple pie a la mode for Dean and thanking him for saving their lives. She had heard the whole story from Rose. “Really it’s Rose who you should be thanking. She was amazing.”

Mindy watched as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, he was so cute when he got flustered.

Dean gave Althea the hug that she requested. Since it was the last day of the cruise she doubted she would see him again. The man had protected her and Daevon, she would be grateful to him and she told him as much. Then she left him to enjoy his pie and female company.

He saw the look Mindy was giving the flaky confection. He gave her a questioning look and asked. “Do you wanna bite my pie?” He said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

“I would just love to taste your pie.” She replied as he licked a drop of ice cream from the corner of his red lips. He got a nice mix of pie and ice cream on his fork held it to her mouth.

She moaned in pleasure at the enchanting taste of apples, cinnamon and light flaky crust. “Damn that’s delicious.” Mindy remarked as Dean prepared her another forkful. Her hand had made its way under the table to Dean’s thigh as they enjoyed the dessert.

“You ever see an owner’s suite?” Mindy asked sliding her hand farther up his leg.

“Nope, can’t say I have.” Dean replied with a seductive smile.

To which Mindy returned, “Shall we head to my cabin?”

“Best idea I’ve heard all cruise.” Dean replied. They had to use the stairs since the elevators were all out of order until the maintenance crew could confirm they were working safely.

Mindy opened the cabin door and Dean was wowed by the cabin. As she let the door close behind her, she removed her top and bra. Dean smiled and couldn’t help remarking in surprise, “They’re real.”

“You bet your sweet ass they are.” Mindy said as she approached him wrapping her arms around his neck and savoring a sweet apple kiss from those supple lips.

Both boys were pretty worn out around dinner time. However, they didn’t want to miss the last dining room meal. Sheila went to her room to prepare for dinner, passing Dean in the hallway as he left the girl’s room. When he got back the cabin was still in disarray and Sam was enjoying a long hot shower.

There was a knock on the door which Dean opened to reveal Melinda. She handed him the tipping envelopes along with a card with suggested tipping guidelines, also the required forms to pass through customs, and cruise survey forms. “You’ll have to leave the cabin at 7AM tomorrow and put all your bags out tonight for pick up. Be sure to keep out clothes for tomorrow morning. One poor guy forgot and had to leave the ship in only a towel. We charged him $20 for that towel.” Melinda explained.  

Dean got a devious look in his eye. “That’s interesting. You might want to stop by this cabin at about 7AM tomorrow and bring friends.” He said with a wink making Melinda laugh. She knew he wanted revenge on Sam for the snake cake. She was really going to miss these boys, they were entertaining as hell.

“Will do.” Melinda said with a smile.

Dean packed things up while Sam finished his shower, being sure to leave out a set of clothes for the morning. Sam completed the customs forms and got cash from the casino for the tipping envelopes while Dean took his shower.

The boys arrived at the dining room as the doors opened and were glad to notice everyone was back at the table, including a happy Waldo and Trudy.

“Man, that was some excitement today. I can’t believe that guy took out the power. What a nut job.” Austin expressed.

To which Sandy said, “I heard it was a ghost. Did you hear that eerie voice asking for his son in Spanish?”

Austin scoffed, “There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

Kayla looked at him in surprise, “This from the man who believes in aliens.”

“Well that makes sense, look how big the universe is. Believing in ghosts is silly. Come on guys back me up.” He said looking over to Sam and Dean who suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

When they didn’t respond, “Oh my god I’m surrounded. Okay Waldo you got my back right.”

Waldo gave him a serious look trying not to laugh, “Sorry pal you’re on your own with this. The older I get the more I understand there is so much that I don’t know and can’t explain. I firmly believe that man’s voice was a ghostly one. It sure sounded ghostly to me.”

Everyone agreed and Austin remained the odd man out so he gave up the fight. After dinner they said their goodbyes to each other. Sandy, June, Trudy and Kayla insisted on hugs from the boys. Dean gave Nelda her envelope kissing her hand and thanking her for the marvelous service all week. 

As the boys were walking through the ship they passed the picture area. Dean saw their 007 drunken pictures from the first formal night. He elbowed Sam and they both laughed out loud at the Charlie’s angel shot which came out perfectly. Dean couldn’t leave it behind. He had to buy it to remember their first cruise experience.

“Sheila was hoping we’d meet them up on deck fourteen at Olive and Twist for Martinis.” Sam said giving Dean his best puppy dog stare. Which was not needed since Dean was looking forward to spending more time with the feisty Mindy.

They arrived to find the ladies drinking two for one cosmos. When they approached, Sheila got up and planted a kiss on Sam’s lips. Mindy patted the empty chair next to her for Dean.

“Hey, baby how was your dinner.” Mindy asked. “I had the fish again. That sucks also as much as salad.” She complained to which Dean laughed.

“I had the braised short ribs and garlic mashed potatoes. They were so rich and creamy.” Dean teased laughing at Mindy’s sour look.

“Just for that you have to dance with me.” Mindy said as the live band started playing the Frank Sinatra song ‘The Way You Look Tonight.’ Dean held her close as they swayed to the music.

Sheila finished her drink; she and Sam took a walk on the outside deck. There was a full moon and for the first time Sam wasn’t worried about werewolf attacks, instead he was enjoying how Sheila’s blonde hair glowed in the moonlight. Sam knew that tomorrow they would go their separate ways and he felt he should say something. Sheila noticed his distress and knew what was causing it.

“Sam, you’re thinking too hard. I understand your life and that tomorrow you’ll be gone. Don’t worry about it. We have tonight. Let’s live in this moment and not worry about tomorrow.” Sheila said giving him a soft kiss.

Despite the fact that they were all exhausted, the four of them stayed at the Olive and Twist until 2AM not wanting the final night of the cruise to end. Finally they parted ways with the boys walking the ladies back to their cabin.

Dean set up a wake up call for 6AM to they could prepare to leave the ship. Sam’s thoughts were about Sheila as he fell asleep for his last night in the comfortable bed.

6AM arrived in no time; Dean got an early start quickly moving through his morning routine. He had almost completed things before Sam could pry his tired eyes open.  Dean emerged from the bathroom and said to Sam, “Come on sleeping beauty, we have to be out of the room by 7AM.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, just let me get my shower and I’ll meet you up at the buffet.” Sam replied.

“Sounds like a plan.” Sam stripped out of his clothes and jumped into the shower. Dean carefully opened the door and grabbed his clothes off the floor without him hearing a thing. Next Dean double checked the room to make certain that only one article of clothing reminded sitting on the bed looking ominous. He quickly left the room to see Melinda, Serena, and about ten other cruise staff hanging around their cabin. A grinning Dean gave them the thumbs up as he headed to the elevators that were now working.

Five minutes after Dean’s hasty departure, the crowd outside cabin 7294 heard Sam exclaim, “Dean you asshole I’m going to kick your ass for this.”  They waited another ten minutes for the door to open and for Sam to peek his head out. He turned bright red when he saw the crowd gather around the cabin. Melinda decided to move things along. “I’m sorry Sam it’s after 7AM I’m going to have to ask you to leave the cabin. We need to clean it.” She didn’t think it was possible but he turned a shade redder.

“Okay, I’m going.” Sam said nervously. He came out of the room in the Royal Caribbean robe and Birkenstocks to which Melinda explained.

“Sorry Sam the robe has to stay.” Really he could pay $150 for the robe, but she was dying to see what was under the robe. Plus the crew had a betting pool, Serena had naked, but Melinda had her own ideas.

“Of course, I’m sorry.” Sam said still standing in the robe. Melinda put her hand out for the robe. Sam took a gulp of air and removed the robe.

To which Melinda shouted, “I win!” Sam was standing in the teeny tiny white boy shorts. The suit was made to fit a man of Dean’s height and size; Sam’s extra three inches gave the swimsuit an interesting coverage challenge. Sam would have loved to run off but the tiny suit was barely covering his ass as it was. He couldn’t risk any fast movements. He walked along the hallway keeping his half exposed butt against the wall and out of view. Unfortunately for Sam the wall also had cabin doors and one opened as he passed in front of it. The female half of the pervert couple from the ice show and world’s sexiest contest got a tantalizing view of Sam’s barely covered perky butt.

Sam turned exposing his ass to everyone else in the hallway as he apologized to the smiling woman. “No problem at all.” She replied as she grabbed her camera off the hook to follow Sam to breakfast. Man, I’m was getting some great YouTube material this cruise, she thought as she happily followed the barely covered hottie.

 At the elevators, Sam had a decision to make. Should he stand in those tiny boy shorts and wait for the elevator or take the stairs? The thought of the suit riding up his crack as he used the stairs made his decision for him. But seriously, could those fucking elevators move any slower? He could feel the heat on his face as passenger after passenger came to the elevators and got an eye full. Dean, I hate you right now he thought as he planned different ways to torture his brother.

Finally the glass elevator arrived. He forgot the damn thing was glass; damn it, couldn’t they put real elevators on this damn ship? Don’t look down, don’t look down he repeated to himself. Despite his best judgment though, he looked down and sure enough a crowd of people were looking at him in the glass elevator. Others nudged their companions and pointed at him in the elevator. I could cover him in honey and leave him on an ant hill, Sam thought as the elevator slowly made its way to deck eleven. He felt cameras flash around him as happy cruisers got his picture. The perverted couple was riding in the elevator with him and little did he know the female was secretly recording him. Her YouTube video of Sam in the tiny white swimsuit went viral twenty minutes after she posted it receiving over a million hits.

The elevator proudly announced deck eleven to Sam’s massive relief. However, the relief was short lived since his idiot brother had gathered a group of people who applauded as he left the elevator. Dean’s smirking became more pronounced when he noticed the pervert couple was on the elevator with his nearly naked brother. Dean swung Sam’s jeans back and forth. “Let me hear you say it little brother.” He taunted.

Sam gritted his teeth and said, “You’re the king of the pranksters; I bow to you.” When he didn’t bow Dean lifted an eyebrow in question.

“Seriously, you expect me to bow? This Speedo is crawling up my ass as it is.” Sam whined.

“That’s not a Speedo. They’re boy shorts.” Dean corrected with glee.

“On you, they’re boy shorts on me it’s a god damn rubber band. Now give me my pants.” Sam demanded. Dean laughed and tossed him, his jeans and t-shirt. He walked to the bathroom as fast as the swimsuit would allow.

A still red faced, but relieved Sam emerged fully dressed from the bathroom and they made their way to breakfast. With Sam giving Dean, Bitch face number 35, his ‘I’m going to strangle you in your sleep with boy shorts’ face. To which Dean couldn’t hold back his laughter. Sam got his pink grapefruit and Dean made it peacefully through the lines without being cut off by the rude lady. He wondered if she was still cooling her heels in Grand Cayman.

As he was eating his Morcilla, Mirko and Andro came by their table. Seeing Dean eating the black sausage he couldn’t help but say, “You enjoy that?”

“Oh yeah it’s awesome.” Dean replied taking a big bite and smiling.

“I’m surprised; not too many people like blood sausage.” Andro said.

“What?” Dean said around a mouth of sausage, Mirko just smirked and Sam’s felt his face breaking into a grin.

“Morcilla is made of pig’s blood mixed with rice. The blood is cooked as it cools it congeals into that form.” Andro explained.

At the word ‘congeal’ Dean turned an interesting shade of green. Mirko and Sam started laughing uncontrollably as he ran off to the bathroom. Suddenly Sam felt better about how his day was going and gave Mirko a high five.

The boys went down to the Pharaoh's Palace to wait for their group number to be called so they could disembark the ship. Mindy and Sheila were already in the lounge and had saved the boys seats. Since the ladies had an early flight back to New York they were one of the first groups called. Sheila programed her number into Sam’s phone and gave him a hug and kiss. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you Sam.” She said.

“That pleasure was all mine.” Sam replied brushing a strand of hair from her cheek and leaning in for another heated kiss.

Meanwhile, Mindy took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Dean’s neck and bring those sinful lips to hers. “If you’re ever in New York stop by. I would love to show you my town. I know the best spot for pizza.” she said with a wink.

“Sounds like a plan.” Dean said with a gleam in his eye. The girls walked off the ship and out of the boys’ lives. Sam couldn’t help but feel regret. Sheila was a unique and interesting individual. He could see himself settling down with someone like her.

The boys watched as group after group was called. Finally their group was called and they got into the massive debarkation line. Sadly, there was no priority debarkation line for gold members. After a quick trip through customs they picked up their bags and they were on the shuttle to the parking garage. Dean spent the next ten minutes checking over his baby for scratches, but the paint was as flawless as when they left her. As they drove out of the port area both boys watched the Freedom of the Seas become smaller in the distance until Dean made a left turn and the ship was gone from view. Once it was out of sight Dean flipped on an AC/DC tape to the song ‘Thunderstruck.’ Sam put on his sunglasses and settled back for a nap as the Impala sped down the freeway to their next hunt.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is over and I had a blast writing it. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you everyone for the kudos and comments. 
> 
> Okay just so Royal Caribbean doesn’t sue me. This is a work of fiction and not based on any event that happened to any crew member on ship. There is no Srecko or Alasd, they don’t exist. As far as I knew Royal Caribbean and their staff follows all safety protocols. Please don’t sue me Royal. 
> 
> Thanks to Google translator:  
> Alasd’s Latin chant of: deus of silenti etc Morana, redimio thee volo! Translates to The god of the dead, Morana, binds thee to me.  
> Morana is Slavic myth name of the goddess of death.  
> Mi corazón te he echado de menos. ven conmigo means My heart I have missed you. Come with me.  
> Tengo que encontrar a nuestro hijo means I must find our son.  
> Antonio está conmigo means Antonio is with me.  
> Mi Hijo means my son.  
> ¿dónde está mi hijo means where is my son?


End file.
